


Empty

by CoffeeandKpop



Series: Angsty Seventeen Fics [5]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: 95 line are basically parents, Alternate Universe, Anorexia, Bulimia, Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Eating Disorders, Heroin, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Mom!Jeonghan, Multi, Polyamory, Rehabilitation, This is a really long story lol, and a whole lotta angst, ill add tags as the story progresses, jihancheol, theres fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2020-03-05 09:58:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 41,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18826357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeeandKpop/pseuds/CoffeeandKpop
Summary: When Yoon Jeonghan develops an eating disorder, it triggers a chain reaction of drama to unfold within the hyung line of Seventeen."Since when did our lives turn into a soap opera?!"





	1. The First Mistake

"Breakfast is ready, guys!" Seungcheol heard Jeonghan announce one morning as he walked into the kitchen. 12 plates, 12 forks, a bowl of fruit, and a jar of peanut butter decorated the kitchen table, Jeonghan set down a large plate which was stacked with toast aswell. All of the other guys rushed into the kitchen and sat down, digging into their food. The room buzzed with tired conversations. 

"Thanks for making breakfast." Seungcheol smirked, walking over to Jeonghan and wrapping his arm around the younger boy's shoulders before he went and sat down with the others. He grabbed a piece of toast and ate like half of it in one bite, sweeping his messy black hair out of his face with his other hand. 

Jeonghan came and sat down next to him; his long, silvery-blonde hair was thrown into a messy ponytail, which he quickly pulled out and tried to comb it out with his hands. The leader noticed that he only had a cup of black coffee in front of him, "Are you not eating anything for breakfast?" He asked. 

Jeonghan wrapped his long, boney fingers around the cup, bringing it to his lips, "Nah, this is my 4th cup of coffee so I'm good." He replied before taking a sip. The coffee mug covered his nose and mouth, leaving only his eyes visible; Seungcheol thought it was quite cute. 

The truth is, he's been in in love with Jeonghan since the day they met 6 years ago. He'll never forget that day:

**[FLASHBACK SEQUENCE]**

_He was a trainee, hanging out inside the Pledis practice room, talking to some other trainees, when their dance teacher called for their attention._

_"Ok everyone, we have a new trainee joining us. His name is Yoon Jeonghan," He announced to his class.  
By the teacher's side, stood a small, slender boy, wearing a 3-sizes-too-big red tshirt and black jeans. The red shirt really complimented his olive complexion-or at least Seungcheol thought so. His most defining feature, however, was his silky, shoulder length, black hair that framed his delicate facial features just perfectly. _

_Seungcheol averted his eyes upon noticing that he'd been staring at Jeonghan. He felt his ears turning red as he realized that he might've just fallen in love. He confidently walked over to the new trainee and introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Seungcheol," he extended his hand, which Jeonghan gladly shook._

_The dance teacher's ears perked up when he heard Seungcheol, "Oh, that reminds me, Seungcheol, Jeonghan is going to be your roommate now. Hope that's ok," he explained._

_Seungcheol thought it was more than ok, he was stoked, though he tried his best to contain himself, "I think that'll be just fine."_

**[FLASHBACK OVER]**

Seungcheol shook his head, realizing that he totally zoned out, "Sorry, what was it that you said a second ago?" He asked, embarrassed by his inattentiveness. 

Jeonghan rolled his eyes, "I said I had four cups of coffee today, so I'm not having breakfast," He repeated. 

"Well-uh-alright, but you'll be completely hangry by lunchtime. That's what happens when you skip breakfast, " The older boy warned him, cocking his eyebrow as he took another bite of his toast, "How long have you been up anyway?" 

Jeonghan took another gulp of coffee, his beautiful, bright eyes matching the color of his drink, "About 2 1/2 hours." He mumbled. 

Seungcheol's eyes grew wide, "It's only 7:30! Why the hell would you CHOOSE to wake up at 5 AM?!" He gaped at the younger boy.

"I wanted to watch a couple episodes of 'Reply 1997' before I made breakfast, I started it last night and it's really good. Y'know that guy from that K.Will music video?"

"You mean the 'please don't' music video? That guy?" Seungcheol asked, finishing up his food as they both stood up from the table and put their dishes in the dishwasher. Jeonghan leaned against the edge of the counter casually. 

"Yeah, he's in the show. You should watch it, I think you'll like it." He explained, downing the rest of his coffee in one big gulp and pouring himself another cup.

Seungcheol hesitated for a moment before reaching out and gently pryed the mug out of Jeonghan's hands, "Jeonghannie, with this much caffeine in you, you'll be asleep by noon, so maybe no more coffee for today?" He chuckled, setting the mug down. Jeonghan knows caffeine makes him super sleepy. 

He picked it right back up, drinking all of it at once, not breaking eye contact with Seungcheol the whole time. He set the empty mug back onto the counter and wiped his upper lip on his sleeve, "What coffee?" He said, his rosy-pink lips curled into a devious smirk. 

The older boy laughed at his joke, "Suit yourself, sailor." Seungcheol playfully patted him on the chest and quickly walked away, not letting Jeonghan see him blush. Sometimes it feels like he can't help but smile when he looks at him. 

•••

"I told you so. I told you so, didn't I? Yeah I told you so." Seungcheol joked as all 13 of the boys sat in the Pledis Meeting Room, waiting for their manager to come in. 

Jeonghan sat to Seungcheol's right, he was hungry, grumpy,tired,and had a headache, "Shut uuuuup!" He whined, resting his forehead on the older boy's shoulder. 

Seungcheol patted his head, stroking his hair to make him feel better, "I'm sorry, but I DID warn you about this." He couldn't help but nag a little bit. 

"Jeonghan-hyung, you know better than to drink that much coffee. Why did you do that?" Chan asked from across the table.

"Chan, can you please go get me some aspirin. There's some in Jihoon's backpack in the practice room." He mumbled into Seungcheol's hoodie sleeve. 

The maknae got all defensive, "No way, do it yourself." 

"Dino, Nugu aegi?" Jeonghan groaned, still not looking up. Everyone was surprised when he pulled the 'Nugu aegi' card just to get some aspirin, he must've been feeling really bad then. 

"Ugh Fiiine, I'll be right back." Chan grumbled, rolling his eyes and leaving the meeting room.


	2. The Second Mistake

After their meeting was over, they went downstairs to have lunch. Jeonghan seemed to be feeling much better since his painkiller kicked in. The Pledis employee cafeteria had its usual delicious spread of lunch options. Wonwoo got a salad and soup as usual, Seokmin got some fish with beans and rice, and Seungcheol got a sandwich and fruit.They all sat down at a small table in the corner (there aren't any tables big enough for all 13 of them) and waited several minutes for Jeonghan to come back and sit with them.  

When he finally got done getting his food, he sat down with his plate. 

_'That's weird,'_ Seungcheol thought as he looked at what his friend had on his plate. 

Seokmin and Wonwoo were apparently thinking the same thing, as the both stared at Jeonghan with a confused expression. 

"What's wrong, why are you guys staring at me?" Jeonghan chuckled awkwardly. 

On his lunch plate, he had 4 baby carrots, a single dill pickle, a tablespoon of peanut butter, 3 saltine crackers and.....An energy drink?

"Forget the fact that you're eating rabbit food, what the fuck is this?!" -Wonwoo picked up the can and looked at the ingredients- "Did we not JUST have this discussion? This is like 4 cups of coffee, you'll go into a coma!" He scolded his hyung. 

Jeonghan snatched the can back, "It's fine, I can nap when we get home tonight, besides its totally zero calories!" His voice was sing-songy and he looked weirdly proud of himself as he drank his death-juice. 

The other three boys shook their heads in frustration as they all continued to eat their lunches in silence. Seungcheol glanced over at Jeonghan every minute or so and couldn't help but feel a bit of worry for him; he felt like something bigger was going on, but he couldn't quite place what it was. 

•••

When the members returned to the dorms, none of them could wait to relax, they'd been in and out of meetings all day long. Jihoon plopped down on the couch immediately, "Why don't we get takeout for dinner?" 

"That sounds great," -Seungcheol replied as he took his coat and shoes off and sat down with him- "How about that bbq place nearby? How do we feel about that?" He suggested to the guys. 

This suggestion was met with a bunch of positive responses except for one, "I'm actually just gonna go to bed early, I'm kinda tired already." Jeonghan announced as he walked to the base of the stairs. 

"It's 8:00PM, Jeonghan." Jisoo pointed out in a flat tone.

They long haired boy looked around in kind of a shady way, "I...I shouldn't've had all of that caffeine I guess.." He said quietly before going upstairs. They could hear his bedroom door slam shut a moment later. 

Jihoon shifted in his seat, "It's not like him to skip dinner." He muttered. 

"You got that right, he's eaten like 1/2 a meal today," -Seungcheol replied under his breath, so the rest of the guys wouldn't hear him- "Maybe he just didn't feel well today, maybe he's fighting off the flu or something and didn't have much of an appetite." He tried giving Jeonghan the benefit of the doubt. 

Jihoon shrugged and stood up to go order the takeout; soon enough, everyone else crowded around the living room to watch 'Avengers: Infinity War' because it's on Netflix now. 

Seungcheol couldn't help but think about what's going on with Jeonghan. He had 5 cups of coffee this morning instead of breakfast, he had barely anything for lunch, and then skipped dinner. Is he trying to lose weight?  
"But he's so beautiful already!" He accidentally said out loud. 

"I know, right? Chris Hemsworth is a SNACC." Seungkwan replied, pointing at the TV screen, only to be met with a pillow to the face from his boyfriend, Hansol. 

Seungcheol chuckled at him before he quickly zoned out into his own thoughts again. _'Maybe today was just a weird day, if he's like this again, I'm gonna confront him about it.'_ he thought.

•••

After the group ate dinner and finished the movie, they all went to bed by about 11:00pm, Seungcheol wasn't super tired though, so he decided to just watched some YouTube videos on my phone. Once he opened the app, he saw a notification from M2's channel; it was a Jeonghan fancam from our show last week. 'Don't mind if I do,' he whispered to himself as he clicked on the video; he'd never pass up an excuse to watch his best friend/crush perform. 

After the video ended, he scrolled down to read some comments, thankfully they all seemed positive.

 **SVT101010** : Oppa looks so good😍 I love him so much!!1!!1

 **Annabelle27R** : Jeonghannie is so talented and cute lol

 **Jeon9han'sHair** :What a king, we Stan. ❤️

 

Seungcheol could feel a grin crawl onto my face, he loves seeing our fans praise Jeonghannie like that. He continued to scroll further down until He saw something that made his heart fall into his stomach. 

**Wonwoofan1717:** Is it just me or did Jeonghan gain weight?

 **Anthony3Best:** I think he's letting himself go. He looks kinda chubby now

 **44Hansolbiased:** What a shame, he used to be so handsome. 

**Sehun'snipples_:** no offense but it look like Junghan gained weights lately (sorry for bad English)

 

Seungcheol could feel his face get hot as he grew more and more angry at these comments. "You're not half the man he is, Anthony3best!" he whispered out loud. He tried to report all of the mean comments so they would go away, but there were too many.

He put his phone down and laid down in his bed, staring at the ceiling thinking about the terrible comments. 

"I really hope Jeonghan didn't see those."


	3. What He Doesn't Know

Seungcheol woke up the next morning with a pit in his stomach. Reading those mean YouTube comments would make _him_ cry, he couldn't imagine how Jeonghan would feel if he read them.   
Seungcheol looked at his phone and saw that it was already 7:00 AM. He rolled out of bed, put on some sweatpants and a white tshirt and went downstairs to the kitchen. 

Most of the guys were already sitting at the dining table, eating breakfast and discussing last night's movie. Jeonghan was at the stove, cooking up a big pan of scrambled eggs (which appeared to be the second batch of the day). Seungcheol walked up to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee, "Cooking breakfast two days in a row? You're really spoiling us, Hannie!" He joked, wrapping his arm around Jeonghan just like he did yesterday morning. 

The silvery-haired boy looked up from the stove and smiled at Seungcheol, (which totally didn't make him blush but anyway...) "It's a nice break from having cereal every morning." He replied, taking Seungcheol's coffee mug out of his hands and taking a sip before handing it back to him, making the older boy freeze for a moment because 'what the hell was that?' 

He continued to stir the eggs, he waited a few seconds before reaching for Seungcheol's mug again, but he pulled it away this time.

"Woah woah woah, how much coffee have you had already?" Seungcheol asked defensively, picking up the coffee pot and holding it away from Jeonghan, who rolled his eyes before answering. 

"Only had one cup today, I promise." He flashed a weak smile. Seungcheol suddenly noticed the prominent dark circles under his bright eyes. 

"When did you wake up anyway?" Seungcheol set his mug and the coffee pot back down on the counter, leaning up against it to talk to Jeonghan. He made notice that he was dangerously close to the stove top and was careful not to catch his shirt on fire. 

"Same time as yesterday, I went for a run around the block before coming back to make breakfast." Jeonghan said as he put the eggs onto a plate and set it on the kitchen table. The eggs were quickly eaten by the eleven hungry, ravenous children that were sitting there.  He walked back over to Seungcheol to continue the conversation, leaning on the counter, right next to him, "Oh by the way, M2 just uploaded a fancam of me from last week. I watched it last night and I have to say I did pretty well," -he licked his finger and touched it to his forehead, making a sizzling noise- "Not to mention, there were a TON of comments on it and a lot of them were so nice! I must've spent like 30 minutes trying to read all of them," He explained nonchalantly. 

A wave of anxiety suddenly came crashing over Seungcheol again, ' _he read the comments_ ' He thought to himself as he tried to act casual and change the subject. He took a sip of coffee, staring into his mug so he didn't have to look Jeonghan in the eyes, "Hannie?" 

"Yeah?"

Seungcheol took a deep breath, still not looking at him, "Did....did you eat anything since lunch yesterday?" He prayed to God the answer would be yes. 

"Yeah, I had a piece of toast and two eggs for breakfast just an hour ago," He answered very quickly. 

"Oh thank god." Seungcheol accidentally said that out loud, "I mean..uh- that's good cause you didn't have dinner last night." 

"Haha yeah that's true. Hey, I'm gonna go get my stuff together, would you mind asking Hansol and Minghao to do the dishes? It's their turn." He asked, walking out of the kitchen. 

"Yeah sure!" The black haired boy called after him.   
Jeonghan said he ate breakfast, but Seungcheol couldn't help but get the feeling he was lying about it.


	4. Red Handed And Light Headed

It was 11:30 AM and the boys had been working hard to get their choreography just right. It was kind of amusing to see Soonyoung get flustered whenever they got it wrong. 

"No no no-Aish! Ok, you have to go left, THEN right, THEN spin, ok?" He rubbed his forehead in frustration. He made all of the boys watch themselves in the mirrored wall as they did the dance moves. 

"Can we take a lunch break already? We've been at it for 3 hours! Why don't we pick this back up tomorrow or something?" Jihoon asked, folding his arms. His fluorescent pink hair was now soaked with sweat, causing the hair dye to bleed all over his face. He wiped beads of pink sweat onto his shirt every couple minutes. 

All of them were moaning and groaning about the difficult work, but Soonyoung persisted, "Let's just give it 15 more minutes, please?" He begged, "You can all go get some water first." 

Everybody groaned in agreement and speed walked to their water bottles. Jeonghan's was right next to Seungcheol's; they both drank all of what they had left.   
Seungcheol looked at him and noticed that he seemed quite pale and was wavering back and forth where he stood, "Jeonghan, are you ok? You're not lookin too good." He asked cautiously. 

"N-no I'm fine." The younger boy insisted, tightening his ponytail and walking back to his spot on the floor, right between Chan and Mingyu. 

"Alright, from the top, with the music!" Soonyoung announced, playing the song from the beginning. 

They all started dancing and they were doing really well, all trying really hard not to mess up. They almost reached the second chorus when a loud **THUD** sounded from the back of the room, followed by a hoard of panicked gasps. 

Seungcheol turned around and Jeonghan had collapsed on the floor, he knelt down with his forehead resting on the floor. He wasn't getting up; Seungcheol ran over and knelt down next to him, "Jeonghan! Look at me! Jeonghan! Jeonghan!"   
Jeonghan groaned but didn't say anything. Seungcheol rolled him over, picking him up bridal style, carried him to the corner, and set him down so he was kind of sitting up.  

Chan ran over with a water bottle, "Should I call 911 or something, is he dying?!" He asked frantically. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. 

The leader took the water bottle and set it down next to Jeonghan, "No, he just passed out." He choked out, feeling his own face get hot. He grabbed Jeonghan's hand and gave it a little squeeze. The silver-haired boy soon squeezed back. 

Jeonghan looked up with half lidded eyes, his lips were void of color but his eyes had dark circles under them, he was pale as a ghost. "Wha-what happened?" His voice remained raspy and strained. 

Seungcheol handed him the water bottle, "You passed out.  Jeonghan, did you really eat breakfast this morning?" he asked in a hushed tone, his voice filled with severity. 

He looked up at Seungcheol, hesitating for several seconds. His eyes were red and tear-filled, "No" he whispered so only Seungcheol could hear, "I'm sorry, Cheolie," he choked out, tears starting to run down his face. 

The older boy nodded silently, wrapping his arms around him.   
Jeonghan laid his head on Seungcheol's chest. After he started to pull himself together, Seungcheol let go of him and stood up, "Stay here and don't try to stand up." he cautioned as Jeonghan sipped his water. Seungcheol turned around and stood to face the other guys, "Ok you guys should keep practicing, just please keep an eye on him and don't let him try to practice with you. I'm gonna go get him something to help his blood sugar." He explained, running out of the room. 

•••

After going to the cafeteria and getting a Gatorade, some crackers, and a protien bar, He ran back into the practice room, sitting next to Jeonghan, who was starting to look better, the color had returned to his lips and cheeks and he appeared to be less groggy than before. He'd had about half a bottle of water aswell. The rest of the group was still practicing the dance without him. 

"Please eat this," Seungcheol mumbled, handing Jeonghan the crackers, "Why did you lie to me about eating breakfast?" 

He nibbled on one of the crackers, "I didn't want you to worry." He mumbled, laying his head on Seungcheol's shoulder cutely, like he does often. 

"Well you see what good that did you?!" The black haired boy argued, much louder then he intended, "I mean... Ok why didn't you eat breakfast, Jeonghan? Why didn't you eat this morning, or last night, or yesterday morning? Why?" He asked, pleading for Jeonghan to be honest with him. 

Jeonghan was quiet for a long time, he lifted his head and looked Seungcheol in the eyes, "I'm just trying to get into better shape for our next comeback. I've put on a lot of weight lately and people are starting to notice; I've gotten lazy, so I'm just going to diet for a while until I look good again. Especially since the MAMAs are in a few weeks and all.." His voice was calm and nonchalant, but his words were total bullshit. 

"That's total bullshit!" Seungcheol replied, saying exactly what he was thinking, his mud-coloured eyes wide with frustration.   
Jeonghan looked offended at his response, "That came out wrong, hold on; Jeonghan, you are absolutely beautiful, and you don't need to lose weight at all. I think you're perfect the way you are right now," That may have sounded a little less platonic than Seungcheol meant for it to. He rubbed Jeonghan's arm in consolation, scooting to sit closer to him. 

Once again, he was quiet for a long time, "You're..You're right, Cheolie. I'm sorry, I promise I'll eat a good lunch ok? And a good dinner." He laid down and rested his head on Seungcheol's lap, who proceeded to stroke Jeonghan's hair, which the younger had previously stated that he likes. 

"Thank you." Seungcheol said quietly in response, blinking away the tears that threatened to form in his eyes, "Thank you, Hannie."

•••

It was a couple of minutes later that Soonyoung let the boys go eat lunch. They filed into the cafeteria and got their food, Seungcheol got a bowl of pasta salad and some mixed fruit and sat down with Jihoon, Seungkwan, and Hansol. Jeonghan sat at a seperate table with Chan and Mingyu, but Seungcheol kept an eye on him for most of lunchtime. 

Jeonghan had what looked like a bowl of rice and some grilled chicken, _'finally, he's eating a decent meal.'_ Seungcheol thought, digging into his pasta salad, momentarily putting his worries to rest. 

Hansol had Seungkwan practically sitting on his lap. He was feeding him chips, occasionally kissing him on the forehead, "Really? Right in front of my salad?" Jihoon complained, quoting the popular meme. 

Hansol threw a napkin at him, "What?! You got a problem with all of Thiiis?" He mocked, wrapping his arm around Seungkwan.

"No, but we'd prefer if """VeRkWaN""" kept the PDA to a minimum; especially when we're in public; frankly it's really awkward to have to watch that," Seungcheol sarcastically explained to the lovebirds; that being said, in reality, he wished he could be like that with Jeonghan. 

He looked down at his food, getting lost in his thoughts. Seungcheol was so relieved that Jeonghan is eating a decent lunch this time, especially after what happened earlier; _'I love Jeonghan so much, and really just want him to be ok.'_


	5. For Better

When everyone was almost finishing their food, Seungcheol saw Jeonghan excuse himself and leave the cafeteria out of the corner of his eye, not thinking much of it at the time. About ten minutes later, the rest of the group got up to throw their trash away and leave. 

Seungcheol was just walking out of the cafeteria, when another idol approached him. It was Choi Minki from Nu'est, Seungcheol had met him a couple of times, but the two boys barely knew each other. 

"Hey, is-uh-is your guy ok?" The blonde haired boy asked, his face painted with concern.

"My...guy?" Seungcheol repeated, confused by Minki's line of questioning. 

Minki rubbed his forehead anxiously, "The guy in your group..Aish, I forgot his name! The skinny guy with long hair and-"

"-Jeonghan! Is he ok? What happened?!" He cut Minki off, starting to get worried again. 

The boy nodded and continued, "Well he seemed fine when I saw you guys this morning but he was just puking his guts out in the bathroom a few minutes ago and I just..uh yeah that's it, I thought I'd let you know in case it's anything to worry about." 

Seungcheol's heart suddenly dropped into his stomach. He knew exactly what was going on, "Thank you for telling me!" He yelled behind himself as he ran toward the main-level men's bathroom. 

He burst into the bathroom, checking every stall, "Jeonghan?! Jeonghan are you in here?" 

He wasn't in there though, he must've already gone back to the practice room or the cafeteria. Seungcheol left the bathroom, looking defeated.

Once he walked back up to the practice room, he saw that all of the guys were already there, including Jeonghan, who was talking to Hansol and Jisoo and he looked perfectly fine. Seungcheol turned and walked toward them and tried to act casual. He slinked his arm around Jeonghan's shoulders, walking with him to an empty part of the room where they could talk alone. He didn't want to scare Jeonghan off so he figured he'd try to play dumb at first, "Hey, uh... I saw you eat a good lunch today; Thank you."

"Uh, your welcome I guess," he chuckled, tightening his ponytail and flashing a small grin. 

"I'm relieved that you're not gonna diet anymore, and now that you've gotten some food in your stomach, you won't get lightheaded during dance practice." Seungcheol said, clearly baiting Jeonghan to tell him what really happened. 

The younger boy glanced around the room, avoiding looking Seungcheol in the eyes, "Y-yeah, I-uhh-I miss feeling full and not being hungry."

 _'Oh my god he's such a terrible liar, how have I never noticed this?'_ Seungcheol thought; he was about call Jeonghan out on his bullshit when Soonyoung interrupted them. 

"Ok so I was thinking: why don't we go ahead and save the choreo work for tomorrow since we've already done it for so long today. We have a meeting with a guest producer in 30 minutes, we should just chill til then," Soonyoung announced, glancing at Seungcheol, waiting for him to nod in approval. Soonyoung is so considerate like that; he's always careful not to (figuratively) step on anyone's toes when he's giving directions like this. 

"Anyway, what were you gonna say?" Jeonghan asked as soon as once Soonyoung left. 

_'This is a really sensitive subject for him, I should wait for a better time,'_ Seungcheol thought, hesitating before answering him, "Hmm? Oh-uh-yeah I was just gonna ask if you wanted to watch Avengers:Infinity War with me tonight?" He continued.  
 _'Really Seungcheol? That's the best thing you could come up with? You just saw it last night!'_

The silvery-haired boy thought for a moment, "Sure, I haven't seen it yet, have you?." 

"No I haven't." 

_'What he doesn't know won't hurt him.'_  
•••

"Hey, we should go out to eat tonight! I'm thinking we try that new Indian place across the street." Hansol suggested as the members all left Pledis HQ. 

Seungcheol glanced over to the bright, neon sign that advertised the restaurant, "That sounds good, who else wants to go?" 

"Ugh, I don't like Indian food." Wonwoo whined, rubbing his eyes tiredly. 

"You don't like any food, do you?" Jihoon snapped back.   
Wonwoo is the eternal picky eater, not to mention he has a laundry list of dietary restrictions. 

"I'm sure there's something on the menu you can eat. They probably have plain beef and rice if you ask for it." Jisoo suggested to him, ignoring Jihoon's rudeness. 

Wonwoo nodded his head contently as they all crossed the street to the restaurant. Once they all went in and sat down, conversations buzzed throughout the table. Seungcheol tried to keep an eye on Jeonghan, even while he was having his own conversation with Soonyoung and Jihoon. He noticed Jeonghan open his menu and study its contents, a look of incredible discomfort spread across his face; Seungcheol looked at the menu and could immediately see why. Every single entree had over 800 calories in it. _'Jisoos Christ, is this chicken supposed to be made of pure sugar?!'_ He thought to himself. 

They all gave their orders, Jeonghan ordered some curry chicken soup, _'Oh thank god, he's getting something substantial.'_

Once everyone's food arrived, we all dug into our meals, Seungcheol's Tikka Masala was delicious by the way. 

Like all of the times the seventeen members go out to eat, they wreaked havoc on the restaurant. Junhui got choked on his beef and almost died, the maknae line tried to play 'spin the knife' because they didn't have a bottle, and Jisoo and Jihoon almost got into a fist fight. At this point, everyone in the restaurant was giving them death glares. Jeonghan sat quietly, picking at his food for most of the meal. 

_'I wish I could go over there and give him a hug.'_ The older boy thought. 

Most of them had finished eating and were just waiting for the check; Conversations had begun to die down. Out of the corner of his eye, Seungcheol saw Jeonghan stand up suddenly, "I'm going to the bathroom" the younger announced quietly, leaving the table. 

_'I know what that means'_ Seungcheol thought, standing up aswell, "I have to go too," He said loudly as he followed him toward the men's room.

Jeonghan's face flashed with panic when Seungcheol stood up. They both went into the bathroom and he stumbled in his spot for a moment before shrugging and heading to the urinal, Seungcheol did aswell. After they took care of their business, they went back and sat down at their table. He saw Jeonghan rub his forehead before grabbing an after-dinner mint and anxiously chew on it. _'I may have stopped him this time, but all I did was delay the inevitable.'_ Seungcheol though to himself, sliding down into his chair.


	6. A Lesson In Ethics

_'Seungcheol, you have to talk to him about this, what if he tries to throw up again?! What Jeonghan is doing is really bad and you have to get him to stop!'_ Seungcheol thought to himself as the boys entered their dorm room; they all kicked off their shoes and threw their  coats off as soon as they got in the living room. 

"So, ready for that movie?" Jeonghan asked, nonchalantly as ever. He pulled his ponytail holder out and brushed his fingers through his silvery-blonde hair, his lips curled into a cute smirk as he bit his lower lip slightly. 

_'Jisoos Christ, It's almost like he TRIES to flirt with me,'_ Seungcheol thought to himself, staring at Jeonghan's beautiful smile.   
"That's hot," He accidentally mumbled out loud without realizing it.

"Did you say something?" Jeonghan asked, blinking in befuddlement. 

"Uhh-umm- no just uh- it's hot in here haha that's it.." The older boy awkwardly tried to recover from his Freudian slip. 

"Uh..ok..." Jeonghan mumbled, raising a confused eyebrow before walking towards Seungcheol's bedroom. Despite trying to look casual, he could tell Jeonghan was still mad about not being able to throw up again. He put his hand on the doorknob, "We're doing it in your room, right?"

_'I swear he does that on purpose.'_

"Yes, we are watching the movie in my room," he replied, making sure to emphasize the 'watching the movie' part so none of the other guys would get the wrong idea.

The boys went inside and set up the movie to play on Seungcheol's laptop, setting it on a chair in front of his bed. Seungcheol shut the door and he and Jeonghan sat on his bed to watch the movie, _'And get your mind out of the gutter because that's ALL we're gonna do.'_ Seungcheol thought to himself, somehow breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to the reader, _'Don't blame me, blame the author,'_ He thought. 

Once Infinity War started, Jeonghan pulled a blanket over both of them, he rested his head on Seungcheol's shoulder, tiredly wrapping his arms around the other boy's waist as he snuggled up close to him, _'seriously, does this man have no shame? Ugh god, I love him.'_

The feeling of him being so close to Jeonghan made him blush. 

"Chris Hemsworth is such a good actor." Jeonghan mumbled quietly. 

"True dat," The older replied, resting his chin on Jeonghan's head.

Seungcheol wasn't even paying attention to the movie, he just kept thinking about what he was gonna do about Jeonghan.   
He quickly got lost in his own thoughts, _'I'm gonna talk to him about it tonight. I'm gonna just confront the problem head on, not gonna beat around the bush this time. Yeah that's it, I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna-'_  
He reached out and clicked 'pause' on the movie without even realizing he did it.   
_'I DIDN'T MEAN RIGHT NOW!'_ He thought to himself, ' _OK it's happening, this is happening. This is a conversation that is about to happen,'_

Jeonghan looked up at him with a confused expression, "Why'd you pause it?"

Seungcheol took a deep breath, shoving the blanket off and scooting back so he could face him, "Jeonghan, I need to talk to you about something and uh...Its something I think I've needed to talk to you about for a while..." It was an out of body experience, the words were coming out but he didn't feel like he was trying to speak lol. 

"Cheolie," Jeonghan interrupted, a solemn expression on his face as he scooted way closer to the older boy, "I think I know what you're gonna say, I know how you feel about this and I completely agree. I know you've been wanting to do something about this for a while now and frankly so have I," He explained confidently, grabbing Seungcheol's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. 

_'Wow this is going way better than I expected, he's taking it really well!'_ Seungcheol thought. He stuttered over his words as he tried to explain everything, "Yes, that is true and-well-uhh I really should just get to the point and say it, huh? Jeonghan, I-"

His words were cut short when Jeonghan leaned over and pressed his lips up against Seungcheol's.   
He didn't know what to do, _'You're kissing Jeonghan. YOURE KISSING JEONGHAN!'_ Seungcheol thought as Jeonghan continued to kiss him; the black haired boy closed his eyes, leaning into the kiss.   
_'his lips were almost as soft as I imagined they'd be. wow that sounded really weird, eh whatever IM KISSING JEONGHAN!'_ he thought. 

Jeonghan pulled away for breath after a few seconds, sitting back up against the wall. His beautiful brown eyes were wide as if he was surprised by his own actions. 

Seungcheol was also surprised, but for good reason.   
_'What the fuck was that?! I mean it wasn't bad, but it was certainly not what I was expecting.'_

Upon focusing on Jeonghan, Seungcheol noticed that he looked...happy? RELIEVED even?

Jeonghan was breathing heavy, his shoulders slumping down in tiredness. He gave Seungcheol an open mouthed smile, letting out an anxious breathy laugh, "Seungcheol, you have no idea how long I've wanted to do that; I'm so glad you feel the same way!" He put his hands over his face in an attempt to hide his blush.

Seungcheol sat there, stiff as a board, with no reaction, _'Well this is awkward.'_ He thought. As happy as he was that Jeonghan loves him back, they had a much more pressing matter to deal with, _'Can't you worry about that later? JEONGHAN LOVES YOU BACK! CELEBRATE! That other problem can wait.'_ He argued with himself in his head, but that other problem couldn't wait, he's hurting himself doing what he's doing! _'Can't you just enjoy this moment for now and deal with that tomorrow?'_ He thought; 

But Seungcheol couldn't enjoy the moment and deal with the problem tomorrow, he had to deal with this now. 

"Cheolie? Are you ok, you've been really quiet for like 30 seconds," Jeonghan asked, scratching his chin. 

"Wah-oh yeah; Sorry, I just..." He trailed off, scooting toward the silver-haired boy, Seungcheol grabbed both of his hands. 

_'Say something, Seungcheol, SAY SOMETHING SAY ANYTHING OH MY GOD!'_

He panicked, he didn't know what to say so he kissed Jeonghan again, harder this time.

Their lips moved together in a slow rhythm; Kissing Jeonghan made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, _'I know I say it a lot, but Ugh God, I love him!'_ Seungcheol thought. 

He ran his fingers through Jeonghan's hair. The younger put a hand on Seungcheol's waist, pressing their bodies even closer together. 

They kept going; It felt like hours, but also like mere nanoseconds. He slipped his tongue into Seungcheol's mouth, gliding it across his teeth. The older leaned back onto the bed, and Jeonghan went with him; Seungcheol grasped at the collar of Jeonghan's shirt for some purchase. The younger started grinding his hips down onto Seungcheol's. 

_'oh my god, I can feel his boner through his jeans, not that I'm complaining'_ Seungcheol thought, starting to get a boner himself. 

Jeonghan groaned into the kiss as he ground onto Seungcheol even harder, their hard-ons rubbing against each other through their pants. Seungcheol tried to keep himself from moaning, but he might have let one slip out anyway.   
His conscience started making its presence known again.   
He thought to himself, ' _This isn't right, Seungcheol. You need to stop! This is wrong. This is wrong. This is wrong!'_

"This is wrong," he finally said out loud, breaking the kiss. He sat back up as Jeonghan crawled off of him, giving him a concerned stare.   
"I'm sorry Jeonghan, but we can't do this right now." Seungcheol explained, taking a deep breath, sitting up and facing him.   
Jeonghan opened his mouth to protest but Seungcheol cut him off, "We just can't."


	7. Formal Apologies

Jeonghan looked disappointed and confused. He pulled his knees up to his chest, "Well I don't think the guys will hear us if that's what you're worried about..?" He asked weakly, his cheeks turned bright red. 

"No that's not it," -Seungcheol rubbed the back of his head anxiously, grabbing the younger boy's hand again- "Jeonghannie...I know what you did today," -He looked down at the floor, not wanting to look Jeonghan in the eyes- "I know you made yourself throw up after lunch, and I know you were gonna do it again after dinner; Jeonghan you CAn't dO tHiS aGaiN!" Seungcheol could hear his voice get louder and louder, he could see an increasing amount of fear and pain in Jeonghan's eyes with each word that came out of his mouth.   
Seungcheol's cheeks were turning red and tears started to blur his vision, "this is redICULOUS! YOU CANNOT KEEP STARVING YOURSELF AND MAKING YOURSELF THROW UP! IT'S STUPID AND SELFISH! IF YOU KEEP DOING THIS, YOU'LL KILL YOURSELF AND I CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN- please, Jeonghan." Seungcheol took a deep breath, blinking away tears. He didn't intend on yelling at Jeonghan like that...He'd never yelled at anyone like that. 

Jeonghan stayed quiet for several seconds, Seungcheol watched his eyes fill with tears once again, his breath hitching, "Seungcheol, I swear, *sniffle* it was a one time thing, I'm never going to do it again..I-I slipped. I *hic* panicked because I ate so much and *hic* I...I..I'm so sorry, Seungcheol! I *hic* let everybody down!" Jeonghan started crying uncontrollably, his breaths ragged and heavy. 

Before he could start rambling again, Seungcheol wrapped his arms around the younger boy; pulling him as close to him as he could. Jeonghan buried his face into Seungcheol's shoulder, the fabric of his sweatshirt muffled the sobs, "It's ok-shhh-it's ok, It's gonna be ok," the older whispered, trying to calm him down. 

His fingers clawed at the hem of Seungcheol's shirt for some purchase as his thin arms weakly wrapped around the black haired boy's waist. Jeonghan's breaths were few and far between as he tried to stop hiccuping. 

Seungcheol rested his chin on the top of Jeonghan's head, his hand gently holding him by the back of the neck. Jeonghan continued to cry for some time; mumbling another "I'm sorry" every once in a while. 

After several minutes, Seungcheol could feel Jeonghan's breathing even out a bit more, his hands stopped trembling, and he slowly lifted his head.

He looked at Seungcheol, his eyes-were always bright and cheerful- were now full of pain, humiliation, and sadness. Seungcheol wiped the tears off of Jeonghan's cheeks with his sweater sleeve, stroking his hair out of his face and behind his ears.   
The silvery-haired boy leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Seungcheol, he kissed him gently one more time, which made them both give a weak smile.

"We're g-gonna get through this, ok?" The older whispered, "I'm gonna help you."

Jeonghan nodded, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, letting it out as both boys slumped against the wall. They sat there, motionless, just staring at each other, for over a minute. Jeonghan still had bags under his eyes, he was still pale; he was exhausted both mentally and physically. He sighed, wiping the very last of his tears. "What about the other thing?" He asked finally, his voice was hoarse. 

"You mean the thing about you kissing me and telling me you like me?" Seungcheol asked sarcastically, giving an awkward chuckle. 

Jeonghan rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well you did kiss me back, dumbass," -he sat up straight, putting his feet back on the floor and resting his elbows on his knees, his tone quickly turned serious- "Seungcheol?"

The older was turning off his laptop and was about to put it back on him desk, "Yes?" He replied, paying only half attention. 

"Have you had feelings for me for a long time?" Jeonghan asked in a solemn whisper. 

Seungcheol didn't hesitate before replying, "Oh yeah, since the day we met," he admitted, trying to sound casual as he stood up. 

Jeonghan sighed again, "Shit! Now, I owe Jisoo 50,000 won."

Seungcheol almost dropped his laptop in surprise, turning around to face Jeonghan, "You made a bet with Jisoo about me liking you?!" He asked incredulously. 

The younger boy's cheeks flashed pink as he tried to stifle a laugh, "...Maybe?" 

•••

The boys spend the next 30 minutes discussing their feelings for each other and Jeonghan's apparent gayness that Seungcheol somehow knew nothing about, "Seriously?! It's been 5 years and I never knew you were bisexual,too? I must have the worlds worst gaydar, Jisoos Christ!" The black haired boy ranted over-dramatically 

"I'm not as open about it as you are," Jeonghan chuckled, "So are we a..a couple now or..?" He asked, changing the subject entirely. 

Seungcheol froze because _'oh shit I don't know'_  
"Do you want to be a couple?" He asked the younger boy. 

"No, not at all," Jeonghan said flatly, clearly being sarcastic. 

They both burst out into laughter before returning to the matter at hand, "Well, you like me, right? And I like you, and we've lived together since high school; we already know everything about each other so we could skip the whole 'awkward first date thing'...Why don't we try it?" -Seungcheol asked, grabbing Jeonghan's hand in his own. 

"Ok, but I'm-I'm not ready for the other guys to know yet, can we keep it between us for now?" -He leaned in closer- "Just you, me, and Jisoo can know about this, can it stay that way for a while?" Jeonghan whispered, his lips only a breath away from Seungcheol's. 

"Whatever you want, Hannie," The older whispered back, "Anything you want." He gently pressed his lips against Jeonghan's, wrapping his arms around his waist and then-

The door flew open. The boys jumped away from each other so fucking fast; they both almost had a heart attack. 

It was Junhui. "What? Don't you know how to knock?!" Seungcheol yelled, shooting him a dirty look. 

The Chinese boy's face had gone entirely pale, he appeared panicked and frightened, "We-WE GOTTA GO, WE HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL RIGHT NOW, ITS AN EMERGENCY!" He yelled, taking short, fast breaths. 

Seungcheol leaped off the bed, "WHAT HAPPENED?!" He also began to panic, taking a step closer to Junhui. 

Junhui's voice trembled, "It's Chan, we have to take him to the hospital NOW!"


	8. That's How It Is And That's How It's Gonna Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so I'm sorry it took me so long to update this story. I promise it's not gonna get abandoned or anything, I've just been lazy lately and I forgot to update. Also I thought I'd already posted THIS chapter and I didn't realize I'd left the story on a cliffhanger so sorry about that too lol

Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Junhui ran through the hall and down the stairs, they reached the living room to find everyone everyone crowding around Chan, who was sitting on the floor, "What the hell happened?!" Seungcheol asked loudly as he ran into the room.

Mingyu turned to face the leader, "Chan dropped a glass bottle of soju on his foot!" He explained. 

"Ok, everyone back away from him!" Seungcheol knelt down next to Chan, who had tears running down his cheeks. His foot-and the floor under it-was absolutely covered in blood, "Hyung, it hurts, it really hurts!" He whimpered between short, fast breaths. 

"Ok-uhh- Minghao, go get a bath towel! No, two bath towels! W-we need to put pressure on the wound," Seungcheol stuttered, trying not to panic," and we need to get him to the ER!" 

•••

This is exactly how the group wanted to spend their night. 12:30 in the damn morning, all 13 of them waiting at the ER. Seungcheol glanced up every couple of minutes at the wall clock. They'd been waiting for almost an hour, Chan spent most of that time crying hysterically because he thought he'd lose his foot. 

"Chan, you're gonna be fine. Don't worry, everything's gonna be ok, "Jeonghan kept saying, he rubbed Chan's back sympathetically, wiping tears off of the Maknae's face. 

"Damn, and I thought it was a crazy day BEFORE this happened," The leader muttered to himself. 

"What happened before this?" Jisoo asked as he sat next to Seungcheol. He looked tired and frustrated, just like they all did due to the situation at hand. He'd been nervously playing with his bright purple hair, so it look quite messy; it suited him though. 

'I'll tell you but not here, follow me." Seungcheol muttered as he stood up and walked with Jisoo to the other side of the waiting room where they knew no one could hear. 

Jisoo folded his arms, fiddling with his cross necklace, "Ok what is it?" 

The older boy took a deep breath, "Jeonghan said you were the only one I could tell. Well, Jeonghan and I-uh..talked..and he and I are kind of a couple now." Seungcheol explained, choosing to omit the part about Jeonghan's ""diet"". 

Jisoo's bright eyes grew wide with surprise, he hesitated for a second before answering, "Oooo, called it! He owes me 50,000 won!" 

"Yeah, I heard about that, too." Seungcheol replied flatly, 

"So, you two are really a thing huh? That's...that's....wow." Jisoo mumbled, raising his eyebrows in disbelief as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Anyway, I won't get into detail but basically Junhui almost saw us kissing and thank god he didn't because Jeonghan made it clear that you, me and him were the only ones who could know about it for now." Seungcheol stopped rambling and glanced around to make sure no one had heard all of that, "Clear?"

Jisoo stayed silent for a moment, shifting his eyes around the room before he looked at him again, "Crystal Clear."  
•••

Chan's name was called and a doctor helped him into a wheelchair and took him away; the rest of them remained in the waiting room.

A nurse approached Seungcheol about 30 minutes later. "Are you Choi Seungcheol? You're the one that checked in Chan?" She asked, looking over her clipboard. Thankfully, she spoke Korean. 

"Yes."

"A-are you Chan's legal guardian?" She asked. 

"Acting. Acting legal guardian, yes," He explained, taking a step toward her, "Is he gonna be ok?"

The doctor hesitated for a moment, "Mr, Choi, Chan has multiple large gashes on his right foot, thankfully there was no nerve damage, but he did have to get a lot of stitches." She explained calmly. 

Seungcheol was so relieved, like a weight had been lifted off of him, "Oh thank god, he's not gonna lose his leg or anything! Ok, what about recovery? What does he do now?" 

"He's gonna have to be on crutches for the next 3 weeks, and he should continue to ice and rest his foot for another few weeks after that." She continued. 

"What about dancing? When can he dance again?" 

The doctor let out a small gasp before she replied, "Dancing?! Oh no, he shouldn't even be exerting himself for 3 weeks minimally, probably 4. He really can't put any weight of his foot."

"Oh..ok thank you." The leader choked out, walking back to the guys and slumping into his chair; he buried his face into his sweater paws. 'This is NOT good, very not good.' He thought. 

"Well, what's the doc say?" Seokmin asked, filled with anticipation. 

Seungcheol let out a long sigh, "The good news, he's gonna keep his foot. The bad news, he can't dance for at least 4 weeks," He groaned, tiredly propping his feet up on the coffee table in front of him. 

Gasps filled the room, "That's not gonna work, he's a DANCER and we're performing at the MAMAs in 3 weeks!" -Soonyoung stood up and started pacing back and forth, his cheeks turning red- "Of all the performances he'd have to sit out of, the MAMAs! Of fucking course!" He ranted. 

"Soonyoung, I know you're upset, but it's gonna work out," Seungcheol stood up and tried to calm him down, putting a hand on his shoulder and walking him to the other side of the room so the others wouldn't hear. The older boy figured if he and Soonyoung could lay down all the facts, they could understand what they're dealing with, "Listen, we're all anxious about this, but it'd be for the best if you and I try not to show it in front of the other guys, that'll just make it worse. Chan's out of the dance, ok? He will sit on the edge of the stage and sing, that's how it's gonna be. Not just that, but Jeonghan collapsed today during practice, you think that means we've been overworking a little bit? We know most of these routines inside and out, so please, let's just carry on as usual as much as we can and hope nothing else goes wrong?" Seungcheol pleaded, grasping Soonyoung by the arms.

The younger boy looked at the ground, remaining quiet for a long time.  
Soonyoung was always a perfectionist, and he had a tendency to freak out when things went off the rails, it's one of his few flaws. 

He took a deep breath before replying, "We'll cut the new song from our set list and replace it with '아주 Nice', since we already know the dance so well. I'll cut back on rehearsal time and allow everyone to rest more; and I need you to contact the MAMA showrunners and ask them about the set list change, can you do that for me?" He asked, wiping his sweaty forehead. 

Seungcheol gulped, nodding at him in response, "Absolutely."


	9. Perfect Family

They left the hospital at 1:30 AM; trying to get Chan into the van with his crutches and everything was an acrobatic act on its own. Surprisingly, Chan was being a pretty good sport about his situation.

"It doesn't hurt that bad anymore, only if I put pressure on it," He said from the seat behind the passenger seat where Seungcheol sat. 

"Then don't put pressure on it!" Seungcheol fake-scolded, turning around in his passenger seat so he could see Chan, "But seriously, you've got to be extra careful, we can't have you being injured for longer than necessary." 

Chan let out a sigh, "I know, hyung, but NO DANCING for A MONTH?!?! I'm gonna be having withdrawal symptoms if I can't dance, AND I can't dance at the MAMA either, this sucks." He pouted, crossing his arms and slumping down in his seat. 

"Channie, I'm sorry but things like this happen. Injured idols have to sit out of performances all the time, you're just gonna have to deal with this. " Jeonghan explained from the drivers seat, looking into the rearview mirror so he could see the backseat, "remember to ice your foot when we get home, and eat some fruit. It's good for your immune system." 

"You should have some fruit, too," Seungcheol mumbled under his breath, smirking when Jeonghan flashed him an angry look.

•••

Two weeks since Chan's injury. 

T- 7 days until the MAMAs

7 days, 8 hours, and 32 minutes until the boys perform at one of the biggest award shows in Korea. 

Soonyoung has been working them like horses for the last two weeks, and whenever Seungcheol reminds him to be chill, he says "What? This IS me being chill."

•••

Seungcheol's alarm went off as usual at 7:00, he threw on a tshirt,slinked out of bed and went downstairs. 

Once again, he was met with 11 happy boys sitting at the kitchen table, all enjoying their breakfast, all smiles and laughs as they ate their oatmeal and toast. Jeonghan danced around the kitchen, mixing more oatmeal, and making another pot of coffee, he looked so happy. Seungcheol felt a big, stupid grin crawl onto his face as he squinted from the bright, morning sunlight that shone through the window. 

He waltzed over to Jeonghan, wrapping his arm around the younger boy's shoulders, just like always. As he pulled away, Seungcheol dragged his hand down Jeonghan's arm and grabbed his hand, giving it a little squeeze before letting go, "Good Morning, Hannie," he whispered in his ear, quickly pecking him on the cheek when they knew no one was watching. 

Jeonghan giggled as he leaned up against the counter, "Good morning, Cheolie," he replied, giving the older a sly wink. 

Seungcheol poured himself a cup of coffee and picked up a piece of toast as he and Jeonghan started their routine morning conversation, "Did you-"

"You don't have to ask me every morning, Cheolie," Jeonghan cut him off, knowing what he was about to say, "I ate breakfast this morning," he said in a matter-of-fact tone as he sipped his DECAFFEINATED cup of tea, "I've eaten breakfast almost every morning this week," Jeonghan rubbed his tired eyes with his sweater sleeve. 

"And I believed you almost every morning this week, but I just want to make sure." The older warned. 

Jeonghan simply smiled and nodded. 

All of the boys were engrossed in their breakfast conversations and weren't paying attention to the boyfriends. Seungcheol grabbed Jeonghan's hand, pulling him around the corner to the next room where no one could see.   
The silver-haired boy leaned up against the wall, and Seungcheol took a step closer to him, placing his own hands on his shoulders. Jeonghan wrapped his hands around Seungcheol's hips. 

"Hannie, you know how much I appreciate you cooking breakfast for us every morning," He whispered, his lips only a breath away from Jeonghan's. Seungcheol gently kissed him before he continued to speak, "I appreciate how much you take care of us," -he kissed him again- "but I just want to make sure that you're taking care of yourself first." he explained, moving Jeonghan's hair out of his face.

He gulped, tightening his grip on Seungcheol's waist, "Yeah, I am," he whispered, smirking as he rested his own forehead against his. 

"Good," Seungcheol whispered back, firmly pressing his lips onto Jeonghan's, leaning his body against his.   
He slipped his tongue into Seungcheol's mouth and pressed it against his own. The older boy didn't want to stop this, but he was really worried someone would see. Seungcheol slowly pulled away from the kiss, keeping his hands on his boyfriend's shoulders, "We can't do this, not here and not now."

"What, you don't like an audience?" They heard a voice say from behind them. 

The two jumped away from each other, both of them turning around quickly to see who it was. 

It was Jisoo, thank god.

"Don't sneak up on us like that, Jisoos Christ!" Seungcheol whisper-yelled at him, rubbing his temples out of distress. 

"You called?" Their American friend replied smuggly, his bright eyes were half lidded with tiredness. 

"What do you need anyway?" Jeonghan asked, tightening his ponytail. 

"I saw what you were doing and was hoping I could join, you're into threesomes, right?" he observed the shocked expression on their faces before continuing, "IM KIDDING! Jeez, tough room; Anyway, I just was-uh...gonna ask Seungcheol what time we need to leave today," He explained, laughing awkwardly at his 'joke'. 

Seungcheol sighed loudly, "We're leaving at 8:00, Jisoo; and if I didn't make it clear enough already, this stays between us three!" He called after him as he left the room.  

Jeonghan looked at his boyfriend with wide eyes, "We have got to be more careful, or it might be someone else that walks in on us next time," He gave an awkward smile.

"You got that right, Hannie." He replied as they both walked back into the kitchen; and once again, they were met with 11 happy boys sitting at the kitchen table, all enjoying their breakfast, all smiles and laughs as they ate their oatmeal and toast. 

Jeonghan wrapped his arm around Seungcheol's waist, and he put his own around Jeonghan's shoulders. The golden, morning sunlight still shone in from the windows, the happy couple both had big, stupid grins on their faces. Everything was fine, everything was great, everything was perfect. The other boys all looked so content and cheerful. For the first time, they all felt like some kind of big family. 

"You did this," Jeonghan whispered. 

Seungcheol rested my head on his shoulder, "No, we did this."


	10. Only To The Outside World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter where things really take kind of a turn. If you're not ok with Jihancheol then you're really not going to like this lol sorry

"Y'know what, why don't we call it a day for the dancing. We know this stuff, I think we'll be fine," Soonyoung explained, "We've only got 5 days to practice before we have to fly to Japan for the MAMAs, but I don't want us to get run down." 

Seungcheol approached him as everyone went to grab their things, "Thanks for being chill about this," The older boy muttered to him. 

Soonyoung smiled as he sipped his water, "Of course, it's no big-" 

He was interrupted by a loud crash from the other side of the room. They both turned around and saw Chan lying on the floor, groaning. Mingyu was running over to help him get back on his feet..err..foot. 

"I'm still getting used to these crutches," The Maknae laughed, trying to stand back up. 

Seungcheol rubbed his forehead, "Please be careful, Chan," he warned, it felt like the 2,000th time he'd said it. This is the 3rd time Chan had fallen in the last week, it started to be routine.

•••

They left the rehearsal room and went to get lunch, and Seungcheol was pleased to see his boyfriend with a large sandwich, despite the disgusted look on Jeonghan's face.

"I'm glad you're eating something good," Seungcheol said to him as he took a bite of his own sandwich. 

"This kinda food is gonna make me fat," The silver-haired boy mumbled under his breath, probably not expecting Seungcheol to hear it. 

"Jeonghan, it's not gonna make you fat. Please, you need it." He chuckled in response, furrowing his eyebrows at the younger. 

Jeonghan simply rolled his eyes at him, "Can't I just eat half? I already had an apple so I'm not that hungry, please, just half?" He pleaded, giving Seungcheol puppydog eyes. 

' _I have such a hard time saying no to him'_ Seungcheol thought to himself.   
"Ok, you can have half, I'll eat the rest of it." He said, giving up, rubbing his temple in frustration. 

"You can't let him win like that," Seungcheol heard a voice say from behind him. He turned around in his seat to see who it was. 

It was Choi Minki, the guy that told him when Jeonghan was sick in the bathroom, "Uh-excuse me?" Seungcheol asked, quirking an intrigued eyebrow. 

"If you want him to get better, you can't let him bargain." He explained, crossing his arms; The boy's nails were painted purple and pink to match the streaks of colour in his hair, accentuating his delicate facial features; he looked quite pretty. 

Jeonghan spoke up suddenly, "Listen man, I don't think this is any of your business," He stood up from his seat. 

Minki took a step closer to Jeonghan, lowering his voice, "I used to have the same problem; I've been there. Trust me, it's better in the long run," He gently explained, turning around and walking away, saluting with a sassy wave as he left. 

Both boys sat back down and were quiet for a moment before Jeonghan broke the silence, "Please, just half of the sandwich. Don't listen to that guy, cmon please?!" He continued to beg and whine.

' _I can't do it. I just can't do it. I can't say no to him,'_ Seungcheol thought.   
"Ok FINE! Half!" He put his head down on the table in frustration, lifting it up only a moment later to see Jisoo sitting down at their table. 

"I'm getting so tired of Hansol and Seungkwan's PDA, I'm sitting with you guys." He groaned, sitting himself down on the chair in between the two boys; he flashed Seungcheol a friendly grin, making his cute eye-smiles become more apparent. 

Jeonghan had this smug-ass grin on his face as he confidantly plopped the other half of his sandwich onto Seungcheol's plate.   
"You two enjoy your lunch," The older boy grumbled, a little more passive-aggressively than he meant to. Seungcheol was not mad at Jeonghan, but he was certainly a bit frustrated with his boyfriend's stubbornness. He went and sat with Soonyoung to discuss the MAMAs next week, "What's up, man? Spill the tea!" Seungcheol said to him excitedly. 

"Ok so I talked to the stage director and we are gonna go on right after Red Velvet, and right before they announce Best New Artist. We've got a 13 minute stage and we have 아주 Nice, Without You, Clap, and Thanks. I called the head stylist and she said we'd be wearing all black with pops of red; button up shirts, jeans with leather and chain accessories- a bit kinky of you ask me but whatever. PD-Nim is sending Minghao, Seungkwan, and Wonwoo to the salon tomorrow to get their hair dyed. He said Wonwoo is gonna get red hair and I'm fucking hyped for it. I heard we're getting a private jet to fly to Japan..." Soonyoung was rambling about our upcoming performance but Seungcheol had long since stopped listening. 

He was watching Jeonghan and Jisoo from across the room, they were smiling and laughing and hi-fiving. ' _God, I just wish I could get Jeonghan to get over this whole weight problem. I don't get it; he's not fat, but he just can't see it that way no matter how much I try to convince him.'_  
He could see how his boyfriend's eyes lit up as Jisoo told him jokes; Jeonghan was happily eating his food without complaint. Perhaps he'd forgotten about his 'diet' for a moment. 

Seungcheol found himself biting back a smile as he continued to think to himself, _'I just love seeing Jeonghan so happy, if only it was me-his boyfriend-over there making him laugh and not Jisoo. Whatever, I guess I should thank Jisoo for making Jeonghan feel better, he's always been such a kind guy.'_

Seungcheol's daze was broken when Soonyoung started waving his hand in front of the older boy's face. 

"Hello? Earth to Seungcheol? Dude have you been listening to anything I just said?!" He grumbled, over dramatically pouting. 

"Sorry, I stopped listening right after you mentioned flying to Japan," Seungcheol laughed, taking a bite of his (Jeonghan's) sandwich. 

Soonyoung broke out into a full rant, comedically scolding his Hyung under his breath, "That was like five minutes ago! Ugh Christ almighty, if you're just gonna ogle Jisoo like a damn piece of meat the entire time you should go sit somewhere else. Honestly I don't know why I even try with you anymore, you never listen to me, nobody ever listens to me!" He finished, taking a deep breath and rubbing his forehead in distress. His face had gone red from anger. 

Seungcheol put a apologetic hand on his arm, trying to calm him, "Y'know what, you're right. You're totally right; I am sorry, you have my full attention...Wait, wait hold on," Thinking about Soonyoung's rant, something didn't sound right. Seungcheol thought for a moment, slowly realizing what Soonyoung had said. 

The younger boy looked confused, "What? What is it?"

Seungcheol locked eyes with him, taking on a severe tone, "Soonyoung, what..what did you say about Jisoo?" his voice was higher than he intended. 

"I said that if you're gonna stare at Jisoo from across the room like a pervert, then fine, but don't start a conversation with me and then not listen to anything I have to say." He huffed, taking a sip of his coffee. 

The older boy took a deep breath, trying to contain his disbelief, "You...You think...that I...was ogling Jisoo?!" he sputtered, trying to keep his voice down. 

Soonyoung leaned back in his seat, his small eyes filled with confidence, "Hate to break this to you, Hyung, but we ALL know you're in love with him."


	11. Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You win."

Seungcheol didn't know what to say. They all think he has a crush on Jisoo...except Jeonghan.

Jisoo.. JISOO.. Jisoo? He glanced at the Christian boy from across the room, he was still laughing and smiling with Jeonghan, his smile lighting up the room. Seungcheol looked back at Soonyoung.

Soonyoung put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Hey man, there's no need to be embarrassed. You remember when I was in love with Seokmin, right? I got over it eventually; It's totally cool. Id say I ship you two, but we all know Jisoo is in love with Jeonghan anyway so...sorry." 

' _What the fuck. I mean really, how much more confusing could this love triangle be? What the fucking fuck?!'_ He tried to explain to Soonyoung how wrong he was, "ok look, I don't know what you think you know but-" 

Soonyoung cut him off, "-look Hyung, you really don't need to lie. I'm not judging you." He was really convinced that Seungcheol liked Jisoo. 

' _Everybody thinks that I'm in love with Jisoo, and that Jisoo is in love with Jeonghan, but do they know that Jeonghan is into me? Would that raise suspicions about him and I? Wait, what if Jisoo actually IS in love with Hannie?!I'm so fucking confused'_ Seungcheol tried to sort out this confusing hellscape of a love triangle. ' _I guess this is better than everyone knowing about me and Jeonghan.'_  
"Oh ok, you've caught me. I'm in love with Jisoo," Seungcheol weakly replied, putting his hands up defensively. He's a terrible liar, there's no way Soonyoung is actually gonna buy that. 

"I knew you'd admit it eventually," Soonyoung said, nudging the older's arm. 

_'Wow he actually bought that'_

Seungcheol tried to play along a bit longer, "Does Jisoo know how I feel?"

Soonyoung nodded adamantly, "Oh yeah. He's known for years."

 _'Wait to sugar coat things, Soonyoung, I need to tell Jeonghan about this, it's fucking priceless.'_  
"Listen, uh-I'm gonna-uh-go back to the practice room to get my stuff, and I'll get back to work but-umm-good talk, yeah?" He stammered, standing up with his empty paper plate to throw it away. 

Seungcheol needed to talk to his lovely boyfriend, and he'd rather do it in private. He walked over to Jeonghan and Jisoo, putting his hand on Jeonghan's shoulder, "Hannie, can you-uh-help me with something in my studio please?" He asked quietly in an attempt to be discreet. The two stood up and were about to walk away.

Jisoo raised his eyebrows, "Sex at work? That's ambitious of you. Is there room for three in the studio?" He asked, nonchalantly as ever; he locked eyes with Seungcheol, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. 

The oldest boy stopped cold in his tracks. "Uh-Yeah there is!" He replied jovially, going along with Jisoo's little joke. ' _If he wants to play, we're gonna fuckin play,_ ' Seungcheol thought. 

Jeonghan looked like he'd just seen a ghost, his jaw was almost on the floor. Frankly, Seungcheol thought it was pretty funny. 

He turned around and Jisoo was still sitting in his seat, his face was totally red. He was caught off guard by Seungcheol's response, "What, aren't you coming? Don't worry, we have plenty of lube," Seungcheol said, trying to keep a straight face. He know Jisoo was fucking with them, and he wanted to see just how far he would take the joke. _'Besides, if everyone thinks I have a crush of Jisoo, no one will suspect me and Jeonghan are together.'_ He thought. 

At this point, Jeonghan's face was fucking priceless. His eyes were as wide as saucers and his cheeks were bright red, "What?!?" He whisper-yelled at his boyfriend, trying not to cause a scene. 

Jisoo shakily stood up, "W-well ok," he said, walking over.

"What the hell, Seungcheol?!" Jeonghan whispered, tightly gripping Seungcheol's hand. 

"Relax and play along, I'll explain everything later." The older whispered back as Jisoo followed them out of the cafeteria. 

They walked in an awkward silence all the way to Seungcheol's small studio at the end of the hall, He unlocked the door and let the other two inside, closing the door behind them. His producing studio is quite small, so it was actually pretty cramped. 

They all just kinda stood there for a few seconds, waiting for someone to talk first. 

Jeonghan finally broke the silence, attempting to play along with the joke, "So...is this the part where was all fuck or what?" He said awkwardly. 

"Well-uh..we could start by...just making out for a bit and then get into sexual stuff?" Jisoo anxiously suggested. 

_'Oh my god, he's not backing down. Shit shit shit shit shit what do I do now? I don't want to actually have a threesome; does Jisoo want to have a threesome?.' _Seungcheol made eye contact with Jeonghan, who seemed to be pretty calm.  
' _does he want to have a threesome, too? Oh my god I'm so confused,'___

__"Yeah, that sounds good. Do you two want to start?" Jeonghan suddenly spoke up._ _

__"I'd be happy to," Jisoo whispered, his eyes meeting Seungcheol. He took a step closer to the older boy, biting his lip._ _

___'What?! How far is he gonna take this joke?! Are we really gonna kiss?! Jeonghan's not really gonna let him kiss me, is he?!! Oh why did I think this was a good idea?!'_ Seungcheol glanced at Jeonghan, who was watching them intently, but he didn't look concerned at all. This whole situation felt like a a weird fever dream. _ _

__It was like everything happened in slow motion. Jisoo was super close to him; his eyes were bright with lust. He put his hand around Seungcheol's waist, fingers gripping onto his tshirt. Jisoo's body was pressed up against his; they were breathing the same air. Seungcheol could practically smell Jisoo's cherry chapstick._ _

__Jisoo stopped mere millimeters short of Seungcheol's mouth; his rosy lips curled into a smile, "You win," he whispered, stepping past Seungcheol and leaving the studio, slamming the door behind him._ _

__The boyfriends stood in the studio, silent for what felt like forever. Seungcheol put a shaky hand over his mouth, letting out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding.  
They just stared at each other, not moving. _ _

__Suddenly, Jeonghan just starts dying laughing. He doubled over, weezing and clutching his stomach. Seungcheol awkwardly laughed along with him, eying him in confusion._ _

__"Oh my fucking god! He was so committed!" Jeonghan wheezed, tears forming in his eyes. His face had gone completely red, "he was so committed to the joke! Aha wow, I really fucking thought he was gonna kiss you!" He was laughing so hard, he collapsed into the nearby swivel chair, still clutching his stomach. His silvery-blonde hair falling into his face._ _

__"M-me too.." Seungcheol mumbled, sitting down with his back up against the door, "I can't believe he took the joke that far, but hey we won right?!" He asked, looking up at Jeonghan. The fluorescent lights reflected off of his coffee coloured eyes._ _

__Jeonghan's laughter-filled face quickly turned serious, "You know Jisoo's in love with you, right?" His voice dropped an octave, seemingly out of nowhere._ _

__Seungcheol was caught off guard by Jeonghan's sudden severity, "W-woah woah, what?! You gotta be shitting me," he asked, laughing awkwardly._ _

__Jeonghan had an obvious tone, "You can't really be surprised, right? He and I both liked you since we were trainees, he'd just never admit it-"_ _

__Seungcheol cut him off, "No no no, you don't understand. You know Soonyoung told me during lunch?"_ _

__Jeonghan shook is head._ _

__"Soonyoung said that all of the guys think that I have a crush on Jisoo," he continued, standing up, "Soonyoung thinks that I've had a crush on Jisoo this entire time. But-but-but that's good, ok? Because if everyone thinks that I like Jisoo, no one will suspect you and me are together," He explained to Jeonghan._ _

__The younger stood up, running his fingers through his hair in deep thought, "I...ok...so everybody thinks that you like Jisoo...but none of them know that Jisoo is actually the one that likes you...and only Jisoo knows that you and I are actually dating? I-just uh...Gaah! The MAMAs are in a week, we're in a fucking love triangle, and Chan is temporarily crippled! Oh my god, since when did our lives turn into a soap opera?!" He rambled, burying his face in his hands over-dramatically._ _

__Seungcheol grabbed him by the shoulders, getting Jeonghan to look him in the eyes, "Hannie listen, this is my problem, not yours. So don't worry about it, ok?" Seungcheol kept his tone as calm as he could, trying to get his boyfriend to relax._ _

__He nodded, smiling weakly as Seungcheol pulled him in for a hug. He wrapped his arms tight against Jeonghan's waist, resting his head on his shoulder._ _

__Everything is fine._ _

__Everything is fine, right?_ _


	12. 1,2,3,4,5 shots deep

Jisoo hadn't spoken to Seungcheol much since Monday. In fact, it almost felt like he'd been actively avoiding him since that whole 'thing' that happened. 

_'It's to be expected, if I were in his position, I'd want to lay low for a while, too.'_

Jeonghan has always been a quiet guy, but he's been especially quiet since Monday. He also appears to be avoiding Jisoo, which is, again, very understandable given the circumstances. Seungcheol was sure everything has blown over by now; everything is fine. 

•••

"Damn this week went by fast!" Chan announced as the boys sat around the dinner table on Thursday night, they feasted on the most exquisite of culinary masterpieces: pizza. 

"Hey, watch your fuckin language!" Jihoon yelled, stuffing a large bite of pizza into his mouth, this made Seokmin burst into laughter. 

Chan was right though; this past few days did go by really fast. Tomorrow is when they get on a plane to go to Tokyo for the MAMAs. They were all super excited for it, but also super nervous. 

"I'm so excited and nervous about performing at the MAMAs," Chan continued, almost as if he could read the narrator's mind. 

"What? All you've got to do is sit there and sing a few lines. We're the ones actually dancing," Mingyu argued with him. 

Chan set his water glass down angrily, "Ok y'know what, Hyung. I don't wanna hear this again because-"

"No no no Mingyu's right, you see?" Wonwoo cut him off, widely gesturing with his pizza. 

"Well wait I think Chan has a good point-" Seokmin joined in. 

The conversation at the table just increased in volume until half the guys were screaming at each other for no real reason. Seungcheol slammed his hand down on the table to get their attention, "Woah woah woah! Fuckin chill, guys. We can't get ANOTHER noise complaint this month," he explained once they quieted down. 

"Sorry," Chan mumbled as he sipped his water. 

The rest of the night continued with an unusual awkward tension between everyone. All of the guys seemed to stay weirdly completely quiet; in fact, most of the guys went to bed early. Seungcheol assumed it was pre-MAMA nerves talking. 

•••

Most of the guys had gone to bed; Seungcheol was still sitting on the couch with his laptop in front of him; He had a cup of pretzels on the coffee table beside him, the bright computer screen blacked out the rest of the living room in his field of vision.   
"Ooh, Namjoon-sunbaenim is doing a Vlive," he mumbled out loud as he shoved another pretzel into his mouth. 

After several minutes, he heard footsteps behind him.   
Turning his head to follow the noise, Seungcheol saw Jeonghan stumble into the living room and approach the couch; he was wearing a large white tshirt and some (very short) black shorts. His hair was wet, Seungcheol supposed that he just got out of the shower. Since everyone else was asleep, the older boy hoped they could have some well-deserved cuddle time now that they're both not busy. 

"Hey," Jeonghan mumbled, sitting, crisscross applesauce, on the couch right next to his boyfriend. He had a glass of clear liquid in his hand, which Seungcheol assumed was water, "I g-guess everyone else went to bed. It's so quiet now," he mumbled, wrapping his arm around Seungcheol's shoulders. 

Seungcheol shut his laptop and set it on the coffee table, looking at his lovely boyfriend. A sliver of moonlight shone in from the window and illuminated Jeonghan's beautiful face, his pine-coloured eyes shining as bright as always, "We're finally alone," Seungcheol whispered. There was an awkward silence for several seconds. 

Jeonghan took a large gulp from his glass before setting it down hard on the coffee table. He grabbed both of Seungcheol's hands, looking him in the eyes, "Seungcheol...I need to tell you something...Seungcheol, I love you, a-and I'm in love with you, and..yeah."

Seungcheol's jaw almost hit the floor. ' _What the fuck? I mean WHAT THE FUUCK?! He LOVES me?!'_  
He didn't know how to respond, luckily he didn't have to. 

"Seungcheol, I-uh-I really love you, ok?" Jeonghan continued, but something wasn't right. It was at this moment that Seungcheol got a sinking feeling in his stomach about what was going on. 

"Say...say that again, Hannie," he commanded, putting a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder.  

Jeonghan cocked his eyebrow at him before speaking, "I-I said that...I l-loOove you," 

His voice was noticeably slurred this time. He flashed his boyfriend a quirky smile before reaching for his glass again. Seungcheol carefully took it out of his hands, sniffing its contents. His suspicions were confirmed to be true. 

Half a step above battery acid. Where'd he even get this? Seungcheol didn't even know they HAD tequila in the house. 

"Jeonghan, how much of this have you had?" He asked, trying to get Jeonghan to look him in the eyes. 

The younger took a few seconds to respond, "Like 4 glasses I think.." He whispered, blinking slowly. 

Yeah, he's hammered. 

"Okay we're gonna go to bed now," Seungcheol huffed, standing up and trying to get Jeonghan to stand up too. Jeonghan ended up clinging onto him like a koala bear but he's pretty light so Seungcheol didn't mind. 

He guided Jeonghan up the stairs and brought him into his room. He was half asleep at this point so Seungcheol basically carried him. He got Jeonghan to lay in his bed and he drew the covers over him, "Sleep well, Hannie. Let's forget any of this happened," he whispered to him, kissing his forehead and stroking his hair out of his face. 

•••

Seungcheol tossed and turned in his bed for most of the night, unable to sleep knowing his boyfriend went and got himself drunk for no reason tonight.   
' _What was he thinking?! He's never drunk that much before, what did he think would happen? I hope he doesn't have a hangover tomorrow,' _he thought, pulling his blanket up to his chest.__

__He stayed awake for probably another 30 minutes._ _

__"Fuck this, I gotta pee," Seungcheol whispered to himself as he jumped out of bed to go to the bathroom. He checked the time on his phone._ _

__2:00am_ _

__He slowly creaked open his bedroom door, tiptoeing down the hall toward the bathroom. He'd hate to wake anybody up at this hour._ _

__A small sliver of light peeked out from underneath the bathroom door. As he walked closer, he heard some....gross sounds coming from inside. Someone was throwing up in there._ _

___'Oh shit, I hope no ones getting the flu or something. If one of us gets sick, all of us get sick,'_ he thought, shaking away the painful memories of The Pledis Entertainment Strep Throat Epidemic Of 2014™._ _

__Seungcheol gently knocked on the door, "you alright in there?" he asked, leaning against the wall, his hand hovering over the doorknob._ _

__Another dryheave, followed by a toilet flushing, "Yeah, just give me a minute please," a strained voice mumbled in response._ _

__He waited for another minute or so before the door slowly creaked open and Jeonghan walked out._ _

__"Oh, Hannie," Seungcheol whispered, pity in his voice._ _

__Jeonghan appeared surprised, his eyes nervously darted around the darkened hall upon hearing Seungcheol speak.  
"Y-um-hey you-uhh-well," he stuttered, seemingly for no reason. _ _

__Seungcheol put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, "Was it the liquor?" he asked gently._ _

__Jeonghan was quiet for several seconds before he weakly wrapped his arms around Seungcheol's waist, resting his head on his shoulder, "Yeah," he whispered._ _

__After a few moments, Seungcheol pulled away, gripping his boyfriend's arms to get his attention, "Ok, we're gonna get you feeling way better because the last thing I want is for you to have a hangover tomorrow," he explained to Jeonghan, leading him downstairs to the kitchen._ _

__He took a seat at the dining room table while Seungcheol rummaged around the kitchen, leaving the lights off as to not wake anyone. He came back and sat at the table with Jeonghan, setting a large glass of water, two tylenols, and a small orange in front of him.  
Jeonghan looked at him in confusion before taking a gulp of the water._ _

__"Good, you need to hydrate. The pills are for your headache, and the fruit is for vitamin C." Seungcheol explained, brushing Jeonghan's hair out of his face._ _

__Jeonghan threw him a concerned look when he mentioned the orange. Seungcheol knew exactly what he was thinking. "If it makes you feel better, the orange is only 40 calories," he mumbled, knowing it would ease Jeonghan's mind a bit._ _

__After taking the pills and drinking most of the water, Jeonghan started to eat the orange. He hadn't said anything since he came out of the bathroom earlier; Seungcheol didn't want to interrogate him, but he still wanted to know what was going on, so he asked him about it._ _

__"Jeonghan...why did you drink so much?" Seungcheol whispered, breaking the silence._ _

__The younger boy stared straight ahead, not looking at Seungcheol as he replied, "I..I don't know."_ _

__"I'm sure you do know. Why did you get drunk, Jeonghan?" He asked again, pressing for a better answer._ _

__"I just wanted to try tequila, okay? Does there have to be some deep, important reason for me to drink so much? It's not like I'm trying to fORGet a bAd memory or sOMEthing. I'm not drinking to-to-to cope w-with a mistake I made or sOmEthIng," Jeonghan mumbled sarcastically, obviously getting angry at the line of questioning._ _

__Seungcheol decided it's better not to poke the bear, "Okay, okay, I understand. Just-um-now that you've finished your fruit and water, why don't we just go to bed, ok?" He pleaded, grabbing his boyfriend's hand._ _

__Jeonghan nodded, standing up with him as they went up stairs. He went into his bedroom and Seungcheol went into the bathroom (cause he still needed to pee), did his business and THEN went to his bedroom to go to sleep._ _

__Seungcheol laid in his bed, staring at the ceiling, ' _Jeonghan loves me...He's in love with me? Was he just saying that cause he was drunk? Ugh I'm tired,'_ he thought, closing his eyes and finally falling asleep._ _


	13. Close Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys get on a flight to Japan, and things get...interesting.

10:00am Friday morning

They boys were all sitting in their van, headed to the airport to leave for Tokyo. For whatever reason, the bumper to bumper traffic was god awful today. They almost got rear ended like 3 times. 

As usual, Jeonghan was driving, Seungcheol was in the passenger seat next to him, and there were 11 screaming toddlers in the backseat. 

Just kidding. 

It was 10 screaming toddlers and Jisoo, who was on his phone, sitting in the seat behind Seungcheol.

Chan was complaining nonstop about his stupid foot (he still hasn't shut up about that), Jihoon was complaining about Chan's complaining; Soonyoung, Seokmin, Hansol, and Seungkwan were screaming the lyrics to Ring Ding Dong because of course they were, Minghao and Junhui were trying to watch a C-drama, and Wonwoo and Mingyu were playing the calculator game; needless to say, the 95 line had their work cut out for them. 

It was the longest 45 minute drive ever, holy fuck. 

•••

Jeonghan could tell how annoyed Seungcheol was on the drive to the airport, and he was equally annoyed, too. 

"Do you think they sell pot at the duty-free store?" He asked as they walked toward the airport security line inside the airport. 

"Dude! Don't joke about that in front of security!" Seungcheol warned, not wanting to get thrown into airport jail. 

Jeonghan rolled his eyes at him, "I'm serious, though. I need something to help me relax after the worlds worst car ride. Maybe some vodka would do-"

"-Oh don't even think about it!" He cut Jeonghan off. There's no way Seungcheol is letting him get drunk again. 

•••

After waiting in the terminal for 30 minutes, they were called to board the plane. 

"Sir, you're going to have to put your crutches in the overhead compartment," One of the flight attendants told Chan. 

"Seungcheol-Hyung, help me put these up." He asked, handing his hyung one of the crutches. 

For everyone who wanted to know, putting a pair of crutches into an overhead compartment is much easier said than done. After a frustrating couple of minutes and a lot of dirty looks from other passengers, they got the crutches put away. 

Seungcheol plopped down into his seat right next to Jeonghan and waited for the plane to take off.   
Soon enough, the captain announced the take off and the lights dimmed. The plane became mostly quiet...except for those 10 screaming toddlers. Seriously, what is wrong with these idiots?

"Did you feed them pure sugar for breakfast?" He asked Jeonghan, nudging his arm playfully.

"No, it must be a blue moon or something," he chuckled. Jeonghan reached into his bag and pulled out a blanket, draping it over both of their laps. 

"This is great. With the blanket, we can hold hands and no one will see," Seungcheol whispered to him, knowing that he still wanted to keep their relationship under wraps. 

He hesitated before answering, "Yeah...hold hands," he mumbled, clearly stifling a laugh. 

_'What the fuck do you mean by that?'_

 

 

Seungcheol should've known what the fuck he meant by that.

 

He set up his phone on the tray table in front of them so he and Seungcheol could watch a movie. A couple minutes into Mean Girls, Jeonghan let go of his hand and put it on Seungcheol's thigh, gripping it slightly. The older boy glanced at him briefly; Jeonghan was still fixated on the small screen in front of him. 

After a minute or so, the younger moved his hand a little further up. Seungcheol's breath hitched as he realized exactly what Jeonghan was about to do. 

' _Jeonghan, this is neither the time, nor the place,'_ Seungcheol thought, not saying it out loud because well...honestly he kinda wanted to see how this went. 

Jeonghan's hand slid further up Seungcheol's inner thigh, making his dick rise like a loaf of bread (oh my god that's a terrible analogy). He could feel his cheeks turn bright red as he stared at Jeonghan with wide eyes. The younger simply smirked at Seungcheol and continued watching the movie. 

Jeonghan's fingers ghosted over his boyfriend's crotch, tracing over his jeans, which were becoming uncomfortably tight. He confidently undid Seungcheol's belt and unbuttoned his pants, sliding his delicate fingers under the elastic of his boxers.

' _Is he seriously about to give me a handy on a plane?!'_ The older thought, biting his lip. 

 

_'He is seriously about to give me a handy on a plane.'_

He slipped his hand fully inside Seungcheol's underwear and started stroking him under the blanket; He moved at a painfully slow pace. 

The older put his hand over his mouth, trying to stifle a moan. Jeonghan rubbed his thumb over the head of his boyfriend's dick; Seungcheol could see Jeonghan smirking out of the corner of his eye. It was at this point that Seungcheol became incredibly re-aware that they were surrounded by people. 

Jeonghan sped up his pace without warning. The older buried his face in his shoulder, grabbing onto his arm. Seungcheol hasn't  gotten a handjob in so long, and he's never had a handjob in public, so this was...an experience. 

He sped up his pumping even more over the next couple minutes, finding a repetitive rhythm to fall into. Seungcheol clung onto Jeonghan's arm, trying not to moan. A warm feeling spread inside him as he could feel himself about to cum, he was so close and then-

"Jeonghan-Hyung!" Chan was tapping on Hannie's shoulder, looking distressed, hobbling on one foot without his crutches "Hansol-Hyung took my phone and..w-what are doing?" He asked innocently, noticing that his Hyungs had both gone incredibly pale and were sitting unnaturally still. 

At this point, Jeonghan had stopped his motions completely, leaving Seungcheol on edge but y'know what, that's not the problem right now. 

"We're j-just watching a movie," Jeonghan choked out, "and tell Hansol that if he doesn't give you your phone back, I'm gonna beat his bratty ass. Now go away!" He growled. 

He shrugged and hopped away, leaving Seungcheol to heave a sigh of relief. Thank god Chan didn't see what they were doing.

"I can't believe he didn't notice," He whispered to Seungcheol, continuing to stroke his dick. 

"That you're g-giving me a handjob..on a c-crowded plane?!" Seungcheol whispered back, stuttering as he tried not to moan. 

Jeonghan just chuckled and looked back at his phone screen, speeding up his movements once again, continuing to do so for several more minutes. 

Seungcheol dug his face into his boyfriend's shoulder, his orgasm hitting him with no warning. He leaned back, closing his eyes as he came. 

They didn't move for several seconds, Jeonghan literally still had his hand on Seungcheol's dick, "Seungcheol," he said quietly, not looking at him. 

"Yeah," Seungcheol chuckled awkwardly as he gently tried to pry Jeonghan's hand off of him. 

"Um...I'm gonna go out on a limb here and ask you..if you just came all over your black jeans and your black sweatshirt," He asked, cringing to himself as let go of his boyfriend's cock and wiped his hand off on the blanket. 

Seungcheol looked under the blanket, waiting several seconds before replying to Jeonghan, "It would appear that I did indeed cum all over my jeans," he noted sarcastically, "What do I do now? I can't get off the plane like this." 

"Just turn your sweatshirt inside out and tie it around your waist," A monotonous voice spoke from behind them, making Seungcheol jump a half a mile out of his seat.

He turned around and was face to face with Jisoo, who was resting his chin on the back of Seungcheol's seat. "W-w-woah woah woah! Were you listening to us, you perv?" The older boy asked, only half joking. 

Jisoo rolled his eyes, "You're sitting 2 feet in front of me, obviously I heard you. You're just glad Jihoon is asleep, so he didn't hear anything," he gestured to the small, pink-haired boy sleeping next to him. 

"Why didn't you tell us we were being loud? What if someone else heard?!" Seungcheol said to his purple-haired friend. 

"I was too busy jerking myself off," Jisoo replied, without missing a beat; he bit his lip suggestively, "Honestly, that was better than porn. Your moans were...beautiful, really."

"Shut up," Seungcheol scoffed, turning back around in his seat. Jeonghan helped him cover the inopportune stains on his pants before they got off the plane and entered the Tokyo Airport.


	14. Regretful Temptation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys arrive in Tokyo for the MAMAs, unknowingly opening the door for a whole shitload of drama.

Every time the members go to Japan, Seungcheol is always amazed with everything there is to see there. Tokyo is so much more unique and colourful than Seoul, it's one of his favorite places to travel to. 

As they entered the airport, they were met with a ton of Japanese carats waiting for them, as well as a shit ton of security. Nothing new. 

There were about 3,000 cameras pointed at him, so Seungcheol tried his best to hide those pesky cum stains with his sweatshirt. He would hate for the Netizens to notice that lol. 

•••

They got a rental van, piled all of their luggage into it, and headed to their hotel. 

"PD-nim said our hotel was supposed to be super nice," Seungkwan excitedly announced as they drove away from the airport. 

"Like our broke-asses could really afford anything decent," Wonwoo said, glancing up from his book. 

"Sad but true," Soonyoung said. 

The van was silent for a few minutes as Jeonghan drove around the Tokyo city streets, following the google maps directions. 

"Guys, I think we're here," he said, breaking the silence as he drove into a parking lot. 

Gasps filled the van as the boys all stared at the massive, beautiful building in front of them. 

"Woah!"

"Holy shit!" 

"This is crazy!"

The hotel was like 50 stories high, crystal clear glass covering each window; a big, gold sign hung on the side of the building that read 'The Golden Lotus Hotel'. 

"This is amazing. Pledis must've won the lottery or something," Seungcheol gasped, staring out the passenger window. 

•••

Once Jeonghan parked and they got all of their luggage out of the van, they went inside the hotel and checked in. They all went up to the 12th floor where their rooms were and got settled in.   
Jeonghan, Jisoo, and Seungcheol were sharing a room, which obviously made for a pretty awkward situation. While they unpacked their things, there was an uncomfortable silence in the room for several minutes before Jisoo finally said something. 

"Y'know..." He began while rummaging through his suitcase, "There's a pool here, and we've got time to kill before dinner," he announced, looking at Seungcheol eagerly. 

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" The older responded, his excitement growing. 

•••

All 13 of them left their hotel rooms and piled into the elevator, sunscreen in hand and swimsuit clad. It's been so long since any of them have gone swimming, so everyone was pumped for it...well except for Wonwoo and Chan. 

They all walked through the lobby and went outside to the large, rectangular pool. It was practically empty, so they had it all to themselves. 

Wonwoo immediately found a chair in the shade and sat down to read. Chan sat next to him, sulking that he couldn't get in the pool because of his foot. Hansol kicked off his shoes and cannonballed into the water, splashing Jihoon. 

Jihoon did not look happy. 

"Oh shit," Hansol muttered before swimming away from his impending doom.  

Soon, everybody else jumped in and started splashing and playing like children.   
Seungcheol quickly noticed that Jeonghan had stayed by the edge, standing there awkwardly, fiddling with the hem of his black tshirt. He looked kinda anxious for some reason. 

"Come on in, Hyung, the water is great!" Soonyoung called out to him. 

Jeonghan hesitated for a moment before nodding as he pulled off his shirt and threw it onto a chair before jumping into the pool. 

 

Oh. 

 

_'I guess it's been awhile since I've seen him shirtless. I mean, I haven't really SEEN him shirtless recently,'_ Seungcheol thought, bewildered by his boyfriend's...physique, for lack of a better word. 

When did Jeonghan get so...frail? His ribs and collar bones are so visible now, and his waist got so tiny. 'Has he always looked like that?' Seungcheol didn't understand, Jeonghan's been eating pretty well lately. Oddly enough, nobody else seemed to take notice to Jeonghan's change in appearance. 

Despite being hesitant to get into the pool, he quickly warmed up and started to look like he was having fun.   
The boys hung out at the pool for at least another 2 hours. Once it got dark out, they all headed back up to their rooms to shower and get ready to go to dinner. 

"Dibs on showering first!" Jeonghan announced as soon as he, Jisoo, and Seungcheol got back to our room. 

"Want any company?" Jisoo mumbled as he set his bag down.

Seungcheol just rolled him eyes, deciding to ignore his friend's sexual jokes. 

Jeonghan got out of the bathroom after only a few minutes. He put on a dressy outfit and pulled his hair up into a bun, "Seokmin said he and Chan wanted me to come to their room for something. I'll probably walk down with them so I'll see you two in the restaurant," he said briskly, leaving and shutting the door behind him. 

Seungcheol went and took a quick shower, then got out and got dressed. Jisoo then did the same. There was still an uncomfortable silence between the two boys for several minutes. 

Jisoo was the first to speak, "Do you think Jeonghan would mind if I borrow his deodorant?" He asked. 

"It's probably fine, his bag is on the nightstand." The older boy told him as he dug through his suitcase, trying to find a certain jacket that he wanted to wear to dinner. 

Jisoo rummaged through Jeonghan's toiletry bag for a moment before stopping, "uhh, Seungcheol?" He asked, his voice suddenly wary. 

"Yeah?"

"Why....why does Jeonghan have a bottle of diet pills?" 

 

Those words made Seungcheol's heart drop into his stomach; he prayed he'd misheard Jisoo. Seungcheol walked over to see for himself. Sure enough, a bottle of weight loss supplements, and it was almost empty. 

"He's still been trying to weight," He whispered to himself, putting a shaky hand over him mouth, "That's why he looked so skinny today.."

"Seungcheol, what is going on?" Jisoo's bright eyes were filled with worry. 

"Jisoo, please don't freak out but-uh-well-uh-Jeonghan...kind of..has an eating disorder I think," Seungcheol choked out, pacing around the small hotel room. 

Jisoo looked completely shocked, "What?! No no no that can't be right, no no no. He's my best friend, I would know if he-" 

"-well you didn't know about it." Seungcheol cut him off, sounding much harsher than he intended. 

Jisoo hesitated before responding, "W-what do you mean by that?" He asked, his voice raising a bit. 

"It's been going on for weeks, Jisoo!" He replied, walking across the room back over to him. 

Jisoo's eyes went wide as the frustration boiled inside of him, "Why didn't you tell me?!" He asked through gritted teeth. 

"Because I didn't need to! It's none of your business! He's not obligated to tell you everything and neither am I!" He argued, taking another step toward Jisoo. 

"But you and me and Jeonghan are best friends, don't you think I deserve to know what's been going on?!" Jisoo yelled, his cheeks and ears starting to turn red. 

"No, I don't! Jeonghan and I are the boyfriends now. Jeonghan wanted to keep this between him and I. Do I need to even say it? You're not part of the relationship!" Seungcheol lambasted him, his fists balling in anger. 

Jisoo glanced down at the ground before looking back up at Seungcheol, he hesitated before finally replying, "Maybe I wish I was," his voice was barely above a whisper. 

Those 5 words really set Seungcheol off,  
"Ok, y'know what? That's it. I'm so fucking over this. Those jokes, those little jokes you make, need to stop. The threesome jokes, and the sexual innuendos, and all of those little perverted comments that you make need to stop!" Seungcheol gave Jisoo a small shove, causing him to take a step back, " I know you're just fucking with us so please just give me a fucking break and-"

"Seungcheol, I'm not fucking with you!" Jisoo cut him off, putting his hands on Seungcheol's shoulders. His face started to feel hurt, tears threatened to fall from his eyes. 

Seungcheol let out a deep breath, his expression softening. He nodded for Jisoo to continue, removing the boy's hands from his shoulders. 

"I'm not fucking with you," his voice turning into something of a whimper as he held back a sob, "Seungcheol...I like you and Jeonghan. I really, really like you and Jeonghan, and I have for a long time. Obviously, I knew nothing was going to happen, but when you two got together..I-it made..it made me feel.."   
He bowed his head the ground again, wiping some tears off his cheeks, "I felt even more alone than I already was. Seeing the two people I care about most in the world having this wonderful life together, completely forgetting that I exist. As for the jokes..I just wanted you guys to notice me again."

Seungcheol bit his lip, taking in all of the information. He scratched the back of his head, letting out a deep sigh. 

Jisoo continued his rambling, his words were barely understandable though, what with the crying, "There's no excuse, of course. I am genuinely sorry for the way I behaved, and for the things I said. I hope you, and Jeonghan, can forgive me."

Seungcheol thought he'd be mad at Jisoo, he thought he'd want to hold a grudge, but that wasn't the case. He understood everything Jisoo was feeling. His heart ached for the crying boy in front of him. 

"Jisoo look at me," he whispered, putting his hands on Jisoo's shoulders, "I'm not mad, not at all. You're our best friend and we love you. I had no idea that we'd been ignoring you, I'm sorry. Please..stop crying. It'll all gonna be ok, we'll get this all sorted out, I promise," he tilted Jisoo's head up, looking him in the eyes. He wiped a stray tear off of his cheek, tracing the smooth skin with his thumb. 

Jisoo made eye contact with him again. His lips curled into a bittersweet smile. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he just nodded and let Seungcheol pull him into a hug. 

He wrapped his arm tightly around Jisoo's shoulders, his other hand stroking his fluorescent purple hair, "You're my best friend and I always want you to be in my life," Seungcheol whispered, swallowing down the lump in his thought. 

Jisoo's fingers grabbed onto the back of his hyung's sweater for some purchase as he buried his face in his shoulder (the same way Jeonghan does); they just stayed like that for quite awhile until Jisoo's erratic breathing had slowed to a normal pace.   
He pulled away after a while, but still kept his arms around Seungcheol's waist, fiddling with the hem of his sweater. 

The moonlight shone through the window, reflecting off his bright, coffee-coloured eyes. He smiled at Seungcheol, but it wasn't a bittersweet smile this time. It was a purely happy smile. He smiled in relief, in comfort. 

 

He was beautiful. 

 

Seungcheol acted on impulse, and without thinking.   
He leaned in close to Jisoo, his face just a breath away from his. He pressed his lips onto Jisoo's, wrapping his hands around his neck, pulling their bodies even closer together. 

Jisoo made no hesitation to kiss Seungcheol back, his hands gripping tighter around his waist. Warmth spread through his body, he felt like he ascended into a theistic plane. The moment was over way too quickly; though it should never have happened in the first place. 

They both pulled away, taking a breath; stunned by their actions. It was at this point that the severity of what Seungcheol just did started to settle in. 

_'You just kissed your best friend. You just kissed your BOYFRIEND'S best friend. You're a horrible person. '_

"I have to go," he blurted out to Jisoo before bolting out of the hotel room and bolting down the hallway until he reached the elevator. 

Once the elevator doors opened, he stepped inside and pressed the Lobby button. He paced back and forth within the confined space, trying to slow his breathing and calm down. 

_'I fucked up..oh I fucked up so bad. I kissed Jisoo. I kissed Jisoo.. And the worst part..._

 

 

_I really liked it.'_


	15. For Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Seungcheol's horrible mistake, he has to deal with the consequences of JEONGHAN'S horrible mistake..and worst of all, it's during their MAMA performance.

Seungcheol paced back and forth in the elevator, trying to calm down _'what have I done what have I done what have I done'_ he thought as he tried to take deep breaths and not cry. 

When the elevator doors opened, he saw all of the guys sitting in the hotel lobby. Jeonghan was talking to Chan and Hansol, he was smiling and laughing, he looked so happy.   
_'He has no idea that I just kissed his best friend less than 2 minutes ago.'_

"H-hey guys," Seungcheol greeted them, trying to act as casual as he could. 

"Are you ready to go to the restaurant?" Hansol asked, running his fingers through his fortune cookie hair. 

"We just have to wait for Jisoo, do you think he'll be down soon, Cheolie?" Jeonghan asked innocently. 

"Uhh...yeah probably," Seungcheol said, not looking him in the eyes. He could feel his face burning bright red. 

Jisoo walked into the lobby only a minute later, his cheeks still faintly tear-stained.   
"Thanks for waiting for me," he said as we all left the hotel to head to our van. 

_'He seemed so casual, damn he's a good actor.'_

Even as they drove to the restaurant, Seungcheol could almost feel Jisoo staring at him. His gaze was probably burning a whole in the back of Seungcheol's seat. 

•••

When they got to their table at the restaurant, Seungcheol tried to sit as far away from Jisoo as he could. Luckily, they were on opposite ends of the table. 

Jeonghan sat down next to him and they both opened their menus. 

"Everything on the menu is over 700 calories, this is ridiculous," Jeonghan whispered, concern painted all over his face. 

"Order what you want and I'll eat half of it, ok?" He suggested. He doesn't like enabling Jeonghan like that, but he'd rather him eat something rather than nothing.   
•••

The rest of dinner went off without a hitch, thank god. They all went back to their own rooms that night, but Seungcheol didn't. He couldn't spend the night in a room with just Jisoo and Jeonghan. 

_'I think my head would explode if I did. Luckily, there is one person who can totally help me.'_

*knock knock*

He knocked on a hotel room door and waited. Soonyoung opened the door after a couple seconds, "Seungcheol Hyung, what's up?" He asked. 

"Can I sleep in here with you and Junhui tonight?" Seungcheol asked him. 

Soonyoung leaned up against the door frame, "What's wrong with your room?"

"I'm supposed to share a room with Jisoo and Jeonghan..." he trailed off. 

"Say no more," the younger boy cut him off, opening the door and allowing him to come in.

Soonyoung, Junhui, and Seungcheol ended up staying awake and binge watching Attack On Titan until 1:00am.

•••

The Morning Of. 

T-4 hours until the MAMA performance. 

The boys were in too much of a hurry to eat breakfast that morning, but they had big dinners last night, so it should be fine. 

They arrived at the venue to rehearse, take pictures, and do sound/lighting checks. Luckily, those all went by without a hitch and then all they had to do was wait backstage until it was time for their performance. The air was tense and the dressing room was oddly quiet due to everyone being too anxious to hold a conversation. 

Seungcheol was sitting in the corner, on his phone, when Jisoo approached him. The older boy took a deep breath, trying to appear nonchalant as he put his phone down and looked at him. 

"Hey, is everything alright? Why didn't you stay in our room last night?" Jisoo asked, sitting down next to his hyung, eyebrows furrowed. 

"You know why," Seungcheol remarked curtly. 

Jisoo sighed, "We need to talk about the-" he looked around to make sure no one was within earshot- "the thing that happened," he said. 

Seungcheol rolled his eyes at him, "If you're referring to what I think you're referring to, we can discuss it after the MAMAs are over. By the way, is Jeonghan doing alright? Did you see him take any more pills?" He asked in a hushed voice. 

Jisoo glanced across the room at Jeonghan before looking back at Seungcheol, "I went through his bag while he was in the shower and the bottle was empty. That means he took what was left. It was like a third of the bottle!"

"What?!?! Should we tell someone?! Call an ambulance?! What do we do?" The older asked, starting to panic. 

"Relax, Cheolie!" -he felt himself smile a bit when Jisoo used his nickname- "It's impossible to overdose on weight loss pills. He'll be fine for now. Let's just wait till after the show to talk to him, ok?" The younger suggested.

Seungcheol hesitated for a moment before answering, glancing at Jeonghan, then at the floor, then back at Jisoo, "Ok," he nodded, putting the issue at rest so he could focus on their imminent performance. 

•••  
T-5 minutes. 

Those last couple hours went by all too quickly, because suddenly it was time to go on stage. They were all super nervous; they'd never performed at the MAMAs before and they can't afford to fuck it up. 

Chan was already sitting in his chair on the edge of the stage, and the rest of the boys waited at the wings for their cue to go on. 

Before they knew it, they were on stage, waiting for the first song to start. 아주 Nice began to play and they performed it perfectly without a hitch. Hearing a sea full of fans and other idols cheer for them, Seungcheol's worries started to fade away and he just  enjoyed the moment. Next song was Without You; He would glance over at Jeonghan once in a while and he seemed to be doing fine. After Without You, they performed Clap. 

It's a fan favourite, so the crowd erupted into cheers as soon as the familiar beat started. 

"박수! Seventeen Right Here!"

Seungcheol was in the zone. The rest of the world didn't exist, all he was thinking about was the next dance move and the next lyric and nothing else. Like second nature. 

As the song reached its 2nd chorus, Seungcheol stood in the front of the stage-as always- and sang the chorus -as always-, at some point, a loud THUD sounded from behind him, but he assumed a light bulb burst or something, he kept going. Then he heard a few of the members stop singing, he ignored it and kept going. Then the song stopped, the lights turned off and the excited cheers from the audience turned into concerned gasps. 

_'Something is wrong.'_

He turned around and saw all of the guys crowded together; Chan limped over from across the stage, too. Seungcheol ran over and there's Jeonghan, lying face down on the floor, unconscious. His vision blurred with tears as he pushed everyone away so he could get to his boyfriend, "Jeonghan! Jeonghan!" he yelled breathlessly. 

He knelt down next to Jeonghan, rolling him over. He was unconscious and he had a huge, bloody gash on his forehead, "Someone call 911! !" Seungcheol yelled out. He grabbed at Jeonghan's pale, lifeless body, trying to get him to regain consciousness, but he wouldn't. Nothing else mattered in that moment, not the other members freaking out, not the crowd panicking behind him, not the performance, only Jeonghan, "Please Jeonghan, wake up, please. Please don't be...Please Jeonghan...I love you." He whispered, grabbing onto his almost-lifeless body. It was at that point that Seungcheol realized that he should try to do CPR, so he did for the next few minutes; but it didn't seem to work. 

The paramedics quickly arrived and put him on a stretcher to take him to the hospital. Seungcheol went on the ambulance with him, all the other guys followed in the van. 

EMTs were scrambling around and yelling things. They kept trying to do CPR on him but it didn't work, he wouldn't wake up. Seungcheol held onto Jeonghan's hand as he laid, motionless on the stretcher, he had all sorts of machines and things attached to him. 

The ambulance ride was only 10 minutes but it felt like 10 hours. Seungcheol desperately tried to wipe the tears off his face but more kept coming. 

_'This is the worst.'_

It was. This whole situation with Jeonghan's eating disorder. When it first started, Seungcheol said _'This is the worst'._ When Jeonghan fainted during practice and lied about eating, Seungcheol said _'this is the worst'._ When Jeonghan made himself throw up, Seungcheol said _'this is the worst'_ , and when Seungcheol found out about the diet pills, he said _'this is the worst'._

But this, this moment right here, is THE WORST it can get. It's the worst Seungcheol is ever going to let it get. 

This madness ends now.


	16. White Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They guys don't know whether or not Jeonghan will survive, and Seungcheol can't take the stress anymore.

Panicked voices echoed around the Hospital waiting room, but Seungcheol had drowned them out a long time ago. He paced back and forth, biting his nails, waiting to hear something. 

Jeonghan started having a seizure right after the ambulance reached the hospital, and the doctors had to put him in a medically-induced coma. They haven't told Seungcheol anything since then; it doesn't help that most of the people here don't speak any Korean and none of the boys speak fluent Japanese.

Chan and Seungkwan were still crying hysterically, Hansol and Mingyu were comforting them, and everybody else was just silent. Numb. 

Seungcheol paced back and forth, all he could think about was how this was his fault. He'd known about the diet pills since yesterday and he didn't say anything. The guilt took the form of a 200 pound pit that sat in his stomach. He desperately tried to keep it together for the sake of the group, but it was growing more difficult with each passing minute. 

"Seungcheol, Seungcheol!" Jisoo stood in front of him, waving his hand in front of his hyung's face to get his attention, "You ok?" 

Seungcheol took a deep breath, "No, Joshua, I am not ok," he began, ignoring the surprised look on Jisoo's face upon hearing his English name, "I am not ok at all; because my boyfriend could be flatlining and I'd have no idea, because I knew about this and I didn't do enough to help him, because he has been nothing but a lovely, wonderful boyfriend to me and I had to go and kiss his best friend!" Seungcheol murmured the last part through gritted teeth, "I love him," He continued, his vision became blurry, he looked at the ground. He wasn't gonna cry again, not like this. Seungcheol tried not to let his voice break as he spoke "I can't lose him..." he whispered, looking back up at Jisoo through tear filled eyes. 

Jisoo took a step toward him, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him closer to him, "It'll be ok, Seungcheol," he whispered comfortingly. 

 

Perhaps you could say that's when Seungcheol had a 'mental breakdown', at least that's what everyone keeps calling it. 

He shoved Jisoo away, "NO! IT'S NOT GONNA BE OK! STOP SAYING THAT!" He yelled, losing any sliver of dignity or self restraint that he had; he didn't care anymore, "THIS-T-T-THIS IS NOT OK! NOTHING ABOUT THIS I-I-I-IS OK! HOW DID I LET THIS HAPPEN?! I SHOULD'VE DONE SOMETHING! WHAT IF-WH-WHAT IF HE...OH I-I-I CAN'T FUCKING DO THIS! ITS OUR FAULT, ITS OUR FAULT!" Seungcheol's throat ached from the screaming, his voice had gone hoarse. He hauled off and kicked a nearby chair, which was thankfully nailed to the floor, but the momentum caused his knees to buckle under him, sending him to the ground. 

Seungcheol didn't even try to get up, he didn't care anymore; his whole body ached from the stress and the pain, now that the exhaustion had set in. It felt like all of the emotions he had bottled up from the past two weeks just blew up in his face. Tears poured out of his eyes like a damn faucet, burning hot against the cold skin of his cheeks. A deep, soul-crushing ache spread through his chest; sucking any ounce of happiness out of his body. 

_'I was sitting on the hospital waiting room floor, and I just started bawling my eyes out and I couldn't stop. Imagine this:Seventeen's strong leader, crying on the floor like a baby; how pathetic.'_

He pulled his knees up to his chest, looking up at Jisoo, despite his vision being completely blurred with tears, "What if he dies?" He shakily whispered between sobs. 

"That's not gonna happen and you know it," Jisoo said sharply, he sat down next to him, he wrapped his arms around Seungcheol tightly; Seungcheol let him. He buried his head into Jisoo's chest and cried into his sweater, weakly wrapping his arms around his waist for some purchase, "You're right, it is our fault," Jisoo cooed. 

"That's not very comforting, Hyung," Seungkwan pointed out in a confused mumble as he crouched down next to them. 

"N-no, it's*hic* okay, It's t-true*hic*," Seungcheol choked out, trying to free himself from Jisoo's grasp, but Jisoo just clung to him tighter, "I-I'm sorry," Seungcheol whimpered, digging his face into the younger's shoulder. 

"Shh-Seungcheol-shh, just please stop crying, ok? Just-j-just-it's ok-alright.." Jisoo whispered in Seungcheol's ear, "It is our fault, but beating ourselves up over it isn't going to help anyone."

After an uncomfortably long amount of time, Seungheol had sufficiently calmed down and he tried to get Jisoo to let him go (which by the way, took quite some effort). The two both slowly stood up, "I think it'd be better if I just go outside, get some air..." He mumbled, rubbing his eyes. 

"What?! No no no, it's ok. We don't want you to leave," Seungkwan argued, running over to him, "you should stay."

"I think it's best if I excuse myself. I need to, y'know, pull myself together," Seungcheol explained as he walked towards the automatic double doors labeled 'exit'. 

The harsh, evening air hit him like a smack in the face when he walked outside of the hospital; he could see his breath in front of him. Seungcheol kept walking and turned at the first corner, leaning up against the cold, exterior of the hospital building. He closed his eyes for several moments, desperately trying to pull himself together and not cry again. He was humiliated, he couldn't believe he threw a temper tantrum like that. He didn't know what came over him. 

He looked up again and observed his surroundings; there was a small convenience store across the street that appeared to be open. He crossed the street, entering the store. 

The place was empty, except for the older gentleman standing behind the counter. Seungcheol approached him, pulling out his wallet and flashing his ID, "Can I get one pack of Mevius, please?" He asked in his shitty, broken Japanese. He grabbed a lighter off of the counter and handed it to him, "This too."

"That's 855 Yen," the man said, sticking his hand out as Seungcheol handed him the money. 

The man handed him the lighter and cigarettes and sent him on his way. 

After Seungcheol left the convenience store, he went back to the spot outside of the hospital building, leaning against the cold bricks. He took the lighter and the Mevius box out of his jacket pocket, ripping the box open and pulling out a cigarette, sticking it in his mouth and lit the other end, taking a puff...

 

and he immediately start coughing his guts out. 

"Cmon Seungcheol, act like you've been there before," he said to himself out loud. 

_'Truth is, I haven't smoked since I was in high school, it was always a good stress reliever though.'_

He took another puff and tried his hardest not to cough; the smoke filled his lungs, spreading warmth through his body from the inside. It was the same comforting, addictive feeling as when he kissed Jeonghan for the first time..

 

..and when he kissed Jisoo last night.


	17. Dark Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seventeen are still at the hospital, Jeonghan's fate hanging in the balence. Seungcheol has to do what he's been dreading, tell the guys what's been going on.

"Seungcheol?" Jisoo's voice rang out from behind him.   
He turned around just as Jisoo walked up to him, "No news about Jeonghan, I just came out to check on you, make sure you're ok," Steam escaped his mouth as he spoke due to the cold air. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just went to the drug store across the street-"

"To buy cigarettes? Seungcheol, you haven't smoked in years. You're been doing so good. Why are you smoking again?" Jisoo whined. 

Seungcheol looked down at his cigarette, then looked back at him, "We're all very stressed out right now, you saw me throw a temper tantrum in the waiting room. This'll help me, just for now." He said, dropping the smoke on the ground and snuffing it out with his shoe.

Jisoo nodded, running his fingers through his bright purple hair; the golden-orange glow of the impending sunset illuminated his mesmerizing, delicate features. He bit his lip slightly, the corner of his mouth twitching. His eyes followed the passing cars that drove down the street, he didn't notice Seungcheol staring at him. 

"You told me he wouldn't overdose on diet pills," the leader said finally, breaking the awkward silence. 

Jisoo locked eyes with him again, "I know and I'm sorry," He replied, rubbing his forehead. 

Seungcheol sighed, glancing up at the streetlight above them, "Don't beat yourself up over it; what's done is done. All we can do now is wait and hope for the best."

Jisoo nodded once more, flashing him a bittersweet smile when they locked eyes again.   
Seungcheol reached into his pocket for another cigarette; resting it between his lips as he lit it. 

"Can you spare a light?" Jisoo mumbled, Seungcheol almost didn't hear him. He was surprised, since Jisoo hasn't smoked since high school either.   
He handed him a cigarette anyway, lighting it for him.  
"Are we gonna talk about..." Jisoo trailed off, blowing a stream of smoke into the air and stifling a few coughs, making Seungcheol chuckle. 

"Talk about what?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. His feet shuffled on the concrete as he took a small step towards him. 

Jisoo stared at the ground, his fingers carefully fiddling with the cigarette, "We got in a fight, I started crying, I told you about my feelings, you kissed me, then you ran away." he said bluntly. 

"Right...That," Seungcheol took a puff of his cigarette, chuckling awkwardly. 

"Why did you kiss me?" Jisoo asked, frowning, "Do you have feelings for me or...do you just feel bad for me?" 

Those are the questions Seungcheol had been trying not to think about lately. There's no escaping it now, he had to answer him. Seungcheol took a step toward him, "Jisoo...I..."

"-I know," -Jisoo cut him off, drawing his cigarette up to his lips- "You're with Jeonghan; nothing's every gonna happen between us."

Seungcheol rubbed his eyes, the cold wind making him tear up, "Jisoo, maybe I do like you but..b-but I don't know what to tell you. There is a much more pressing matter to deal with. Jeonghan, the man we both love, is in a fucking coma right now. I can't even begin to think about 'us' until I know he's gonna be ok!" He explained to Jisoo, his voice getting louder with each word, "Hm sorry, didn't mean to yell."

Jisoo stared at him, the streetlights reflected off of his almond-coloured eyes, "Y-you're right, you're completely right. I'm sorry. We shouldn't be pressing the matter any further, not for awhile."

Seungcheol sighed, "It's ok, I'm not mad at you, I'm just frustrated and stressed; I'm sure you are too," - _'I took a drag of my smoke, pausing for dramatic effect_ '- "I will tell you what I know, though. I definitely liked the kiss," he finished, flashing Jisoo a brief grin. 

Jisoo chuckled at his words, "As did I," he assured, taking a step closer and patting Seungcheol on the back, "Should we go back inside now?"

The older boy nodded in response as they both stomped out their cigarettes, signaling the end of their conversation. 

•••

Upon re-entering the hospital waiting room, one would think that time had stopped, since it looked like no one had even moved since Seungcheol went outside 30 minutes ago.   
Everybody was either pacing back and forth or sitting quietly with their head down.

"Any news on Jeonghan?" he asked Junhui, who was pacing around the waiting room, compulsively twirling a strand of bleach-blonde hair around his finger; it's his nervous habit. 

"Nothing," the Chinese boy mumbled, barely acknowledging his hyung. 

Seungcheol sighed, plopping himself into a chair next to Jihoon, who appeared to be writing song lyrics. 

Seungcheol figured the least he could do at this point was distract himself, so he pulled out his phone and opened Twitter. The first post that he saw was what gave him his 23rd mini heart attack of the day:

**'BREAKING: SEVENTEEN'S JEONGHAN COLLAPSES DURING MAMA PERFORMANCE, LEADER SEUNGCHEOL CONFESSES HIS LOVE TO HIM'**

He shot up from his seat, "Oh fuck. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck," he sputtered, rubbing my face with my hands, "we got a problem," he mumbled, drawing Jihoon's attention. 

"What? What is it?" The pink-haired boy asked, sounding weirdly casual. 

"Look what's trending on Twitter," Seungcheol whispered to him, shoving his phone into his face. 

Jihoon took a moment to read the headline outloud before handing the phone back to him, "oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck," he repeated, cupping his hand over his mouth, "This can't be happening, please tell me this isn't happening."

"What? What the hell is going on?" Soonyoung asked, walking over to the two. 

The other guys were now interested aswell, looking around concernedly as they all asked Seungcheol what was happening. 

"Guys it's really bad," Jihoon warned, he trying to get the guys to sit back down again. 

"I'm confused," Hansol mumbled. 

Seokmin followed suit, "Me too."

"I think I know what this is about..." Jisoo groaned, slouching in his seat. 

"EVERYONE SHUT UP, JUST SHUT UP; I NEED TO THINK!" Seungcheol ordered. He took a second to reexamine the situation; he got up and paced back and forth across the room. 

_'Oh my god, we are so fucked. Pledis probably already knows, oh fuck this is so bad,'_ He rubbed the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. He did the only thing he could; he swallowed his pride and told them the truth. 

Seungcheol looked up, and all of the guys were looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something, "I need to tell you guys something," he began, his tone was solemn, "The reason that Jeonghan collapsed tonight was because he overdosed on pills; diet pills. Jeonghan has been struggling with...some mental health problems..for awhile now. I thought he was getting better, but he was actually getting worse. He's most likely gonna have to stay in the hospital for a couple days..because the hospital will most likely see this as an attempted suicide, WHICH I'M PRETTY SURE IT'S NOT! Anyway, when he wakes up and you guys get to see him, I want you to try to not act weird around him. Treat him normally, please," Seungcheol explained to them, watching as their jaws all dropped to the floor with each sentence. 

He continued, "As for the other thing..Jeonghan and I recently started dating. That's..what the whole love confession was about. He didn't want to tell anybody, he just wanted to keep it between us but now the whole world knows and probably our bosses too so I guess everything has just gone to shit now hasn't it?!We're gonna get fired and all of our lives are ruined now and it's all my fault!"

"Seungcheol..." Jisoo cut him off, placing his hand on his shoulder and giving him a cautious look, "Deep breaths."

Seungcheol obeyed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. He waited for the rest of the boys to process all of the new information. 

"Are you...really in love with Jeonghan?" Hansol quietly asked, his eyes were wide with curiosity. 

Seungcheol's heart skipped a beat when he heard Hansol's question; he certainly knew the answer. After several seconds of anticipation-filled silence, Seungcheol did something he never thought he'd do:

"Y-yeah...yes. I am in love with Jeonghan," he admitted; his cheeks burning red. He'd never really admitted it like that before, calmly, candidly so. 

They all stood there, dumbfounded, for several seconds. 

"Anyway," -Jisoo pressed on- "I don't want you guys to worry about that news article, ok? Seungcheol and I going to talk to our managers and get everything sorted out. Right now, our main focus is waiting for Jeonghan to stabilize, and when he does...we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Everything is going to be fine."

The boys all nodded in satisfaction, walking back to their seats. Jisoo approached Seungcheol, grabbing his hand, "Everything is going to be fine....right?"

Seungcheol sighed, looking him in the eyes, "Of course not."


	18. The Most Amazing Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeonghan wakes up from his Coma, and Seungcheol has to make a tough decision.

"Mr. Choi?" A doctor asked, approaching the boys. 

"Any news on Jeonghan?" Seungcheol asked in his broken Japanese, anticipation building inside him.

"Yes, he woke up from the medically-induced coma. He had to have his stomach pumped and he has a mild concussion, but he is stable now and breathing on his own. Mr. Choi, you should know that we found large traces of heroin in his system along with the weight loss supplements. He'll be feeling some withdrawal symptoms for a while. Otherwise, he's in stable condition and you can see him now," The doctor explained, giving a comforting smile. 

Seungheol was so happy to know that Jeonghan was gonna be ok, the whole heroin thing completely went over his head. A wave of relief washed over him, "Oh my god, he's gonna be ok,  he's gonna be ok!"

"Yes, but I suggest only one person at a time see him right now," She said. 

"Oh,ok. Yes -that's-uh-yeah-I'll go, ok?" He stuttered, glancing between Jisoo and the Doctor. 

His heart was beating out of its chest as he approached Jeonghan's hospital room, Seungcheol slowly opened the door and stepped inside. 

Jeonghan, his beautiful, sunshiny boyfriend, laid weakly in his hospital bed; he looked more tired, sick, and frail than he ever has. His cheeks and lips were void of color, dark circles surrounding his eyes. His collarbones and cheekbones were much more visible than they used to be. Seungcheol's vision became blurred with tears as he approached the bedside. 

"Cheolie," Jeonghan greeted with a raspy voice, giving his boyfriend a bittersweet smile, "aww,why are you crying? What happened?" He asked innocently, harshly scratching at his arm with what little energy he appeared to have. 

_'For the 523rd time today, I was fucking crying again.'_

Seungcheol knelt down next to Jeonghan's bed, grabbing desperately at his hand, "I-I-I..we though t-that you were-uh-we t-t-thought...aft-t-t-ter the, after the performance-uh..we w-we-" 

"Seungcheol! Seungcheol!" Jeonghan captured the attention of Seungcheol, who was attempting to stifle a sob, "Fuckin chill, dude."

That's when Seungcheol started laughing and crying at the same time, "Jeonghan, you...," He paused, taking on a serious tone once again, "I've never been so happy to talk to you."

Jeonghan reached out to wipe a tear off of his boyfriend's cheek. He sat up so Seungcheol could kiss him; his lips were cold and dry, but Seungcheol couldn't care less, he was just so happy to be with Jeonghan. 

He pulled away quickly though, furrowing his eyebrows at Seungcheol.   
"Can you tell me everything that happened?" He laid back down, rubbing his eyes as he focused his attention back on his boyfriend. 

The leader pulled up a chair and sat next to Jeonghan's bed, "What was the last thing you remember?"

"We were about to go onstage to perform at the MAMAs...and then I woke up here," the younger said, his fingernails raking across his forearm again. 

Seungcheol sighed, looking Jeonghan in the eyes, "Well...you overdosed and collapsed during the performance; on live television no less."

His eyes widened, "Oh those? Y-yeah uh those -um-were for-" he stuttered as he tried to defend his actions. 

"Jeonghan, those diet pills you bought were laced with heroin. That's why you got addicted, that's why you overdosed. Wait, hold on, it only gets worse from here," Seungcheol furrowed his eyebrows at Jeonghan, "When you got to the hospital, you had a seizure and they had to put you in a medically induced coma, you were unconscious for 5 hours; also I may or may not have proclaimed my love to you on live television..." he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Jeonghan stayed quiet for a long time; his grip on Seungcheol's hands slowly loosened, he pulled his hand away and covered his mouth with it, "You love me?" He whispered, his pale cheeks turning slightly pink.

Seungcheol blinked in befuddlement, "Y-yeah, I love you...but listen, you took half a bottle of pills in two days and I need you to understand that-"

"-wait, so the whole world knows about our relationship now?!" He interrupted, beginning to panic again, "All the boys know? Our managers? The Carats?!"

Seungcheol rubbed his forehead, getting frustrated with his boyfriend, "PRIORITIES, Jeonghan!" 

"Sorry, continue," he bit his lip, fiddling anxiously with his hospital bracelet.

"Hannie, you almost died because of those pills. I think you have a problem," his voice was meek and raspy; he grabbed Jeonghan's hand again, "You have a real, serious problem, and something needs to be done about it."

Jeonghan closed his eyes, sighing, "I know," he whispered, looking back at him, "When we come back home, I'm gonna try get better for real this time. The whole world knows about this, lets consider it a clean slate. Everything is out in the open, no more secrets," he explained, his left eye twitching slightly. 

' _No more secrets, except for the one massive secret about me and Jisoo.'_

"So..you're ready for the world to know about you and me?" Seungcheol asked, confused by Jeonghan's words. 

"Not really, but what can we do about it. Everyone knows that you and me are together, we might as well just fuckin go with it." He laughed, smiling peacefully. 

"Oh-uh-ok-I guess that's w-what we're gonna do," he replied, his grip tightened around Jeonghan's fingers, they were quiet for a few seconds, "The other guys are really eager to see you."

"I'm eager to see them, too," the younger replied, giving a weak smile as he sat up in his bed, "Send them in," he ordered, chuckling to himself. 

•••

As Seungcheol re-entered the waiting room, everybody practically tackled him. The room was buzzing with 100 questions. 

"He's alive! He's alive!" Mingyu chanted, jumping up and down. 

"How is he? Is he awake?!" Minghao asked. 

Junhui pushed his way to the front of the small crowd, "When does he get to leave the hospital?"

Seungcheol backed up defensively, "Woah woah woah! Slow down! Believe me, we can go home very soon. You guys can all go in to see him now, though." 

They all happily left to go see Jeonghan, but Seungcheol pulled Jisoo aside, "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Y-yeah, sure," he replied, walking with his hyung to a secluded corner of the waiting room, "what's going on?"

"I lied to them," he told Jisoo, rubbing his forehead, "Jeonghan isn't coming home soon."

"What do you mean?" Jisoo asked as he anxiously fiddled with his earrings. 

Seungcheol took a deep breath, taking a step closer to Jisoo and lowering his voice, "I found...I found an inpatient treatment center for people with mental health problems. I-it's back home, in Seoul; He could go there for a little while so he can get better..." he said, barely louder than a whisper, "I don't know how to tell the others."

Jisoo gently grabbed his hand, their fingers lacing together, "They may not like the idea, but it's what's best for Jeonghan and that's what matters," Jisoo leaned closer, his face only a breath away from his, "Just like you said, he's the man we both love and he needs our help."

Seungcheol let go of his hand so he could wrap his arms around his torso, pulling him into a tight hug, "I'm glad you agree."

He nuzzled his face into the crook of his hyung's neck, taking a big sniff, "You smell absolutely delicious, by the way," Jisoo purred into his ear. 

Seungcheol pulled away from him quickly, giving him an annoyed look, "Ok, you can cool it with the pervy comments, Casanova." 

Jisoo burst into laughter upon hearing that response, "Ahaha-sorry, sorry; you're right," He chuckled. 

The older boy quickly changed the subject, "By the way, one more thing," he murmured, pausing for dramatic effect as he leaned in closer to Jisoo again. 

"Yeah?" Jisoo asked, baiting Seungcheol to continue. 

Except Seungcheol didn't say anything, grabbed the back of Jisoo's neck, closing the distance between them; Jisoo's lips gently connected with his.   
His mouth was soft, enticing, _addictive_. Jisoo was a drug that Seungcheol found himself getting hooked on. The kiss only lasted for a moment before Seungcheol pulled away from him.   
Seungcheol's fingers drug across Jisoo's chest and shoulder as he walked away. He could feel his entire face going red as soon as his back was to Jisoo.   
He bit his lip, a powerful realization hitting him. 

 

_'I hate to admit it...but I think I really like Jisoo.'_


	19. Trust And Patience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeunghan is anxiously waiting to be released from the hospital, though he still has no idea that he won't be going home quite yet.   
> Jisoo and Seungcheol have an emotional, late-night discussion.

"Woah woah woah guys, one at a time, please!" Jeonghan chuckled, clearly overwhelmed by the 12 people all crowding around his hospital bed. The room was much too small for that many people. 

"Y'know what, visiting hours are actually over so you guys are gonna have to go home soon," The doctor explained, brushing her long, brown hair out of her face.

"How many days until I get to go home again?" Jeonghan asked her, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration, he bit his lip harshly. 

"Only two, Mr. Yoon," She replied, giving a sympathetic smile. 

Jeonghan sighed heavily, "Good, once I'm released from this hospital, all I want is to go back to my own bed in my own room in Korea," he explained. 

His words made Seungcheol cringe, because he knew Jeonghan wasn't gonna get to go home for a while. 

•••

After the boys all gave Jeonghan plenty of hugs, they eventually left the hospital. As they walked through the parking lot to the van, Jisoo pulled Seungcheol aside, away from the others. 

"When are you gonna tell them? When are you gonna tell HIM?" He whispered, his hand tightly gripping Seungcheol's forearm. 

He tried to pry Jisoo's hand off of him, "Very soon, I promise."

"I'm trusting you on this."

"I know," Seungcheol's eyes remained focused on the pavement below him. 

"Not driving," Wonwoo shouted as they all reached the van. 

"Not it," Jihoon followed suit. 

Hansol did the same, "Not it."

As did Junhui, "Not it."

Before everyone else could say it too, Seungcheol went ahead and volunteered as tribute, "Ugh fine, I'll drive."

_'I haven't driven in like a year, Jeonghan always does it; and Jisoos Christ the traffic in Tokyo is terrible! Who knew Japanese rush hour was at 11:00pm?!'_

•••

When they pulled into the hotel parking lot almost an hour later, Seungcheol looked around to the back seat and saw that everyone had fallen asleep; obviously exhausted after that hell of a day they had. Jisoo, who was up in the front with him, was still playing a game on his phone.   
Seungcheol tapped on his shoulder to get his attention, "Jisoo, look," he whispered.

10 adorable, sleeping children; they looked so innocent and blissful. "I almost don't want to wake them up," Jisoo whispered back; his lips curling into a smile as he locked eyes with his best friend. 

The incoming moonlight illuminated his princely features, bringing out the tinges of gold in his coppery eyes. Seungcheol was hypnotized by his beauty. 

The leader quietly unbuckled his seatbelt, leaning over his seat to get closer to Jisoo; grabbing onto his hand. They were centimeters apart, breathing the same air. Seungcheol's lips just barely brushed against Jisoo's when a car horn went off, causing them both to jump back in surprise. 

"Ugh, what was that?!" Jihoon groaned from the seat behind Jisoo, lazily rubbing his eyes. 

All of the other sleeping boys soon woke up too; thankfully, they didn't see the kiss. 

"You guys all fell asleep on the ride home from the hospital," Seungcheol announced, stifling a laugh. 

"What time is it?" Minghao mumbled. 

He opened his car door, stepping onto the pavement, "Almost midnight, sorry to wake you but I'd rather you sleep in your hotel room than in the car," Seungcheol grumbled as all of them got out of the van and began walking towards the hotel. 

As the boys all walked into the lobby, Seungcheol reiterated what he'd said earlier, "Remember guys, I don't want any of you to have to worry about anything. Not the press, not our managers, not anything. All you guys need to do is make sure Jeonghan feels comfortable and understood when you see him,ok?" 

He was met with several half-hearted nods and a couple 'uh-huh' s in response; he shrugged it off. 

_'They're just tired, I'll tell them again tomorrow maybe, just to hammer in the point'_

•••

When Jisoo and Seungcheol went into their shared hotel room, the first thing Seungcheol saw was Jeonghan's toiletry bag on the nightstand, it had an empty pill jar inside it. He threw the jar way, packing up Jeonghan's stuff neatly and putting his suitcase in the corner in case they bring it to the hospital tomorrow. 

Neither of them said anything, Jisoo remained silent while they got ready for bed and didn't speak up until Seungcheol was about to turn the lights off for the night. 

"Seungcheol," he mumbled. He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the floor, "Why do we keep doing this?" His voice was shaky and hoarse. 

Seungcheol walked over and sat down next to him, "Elaborate." 

"Why..why do you still want to kiss me and-a-a-and hold my hand even though Jeonghan is awake and he's ok?! You and Jeonghan are together and I'm just the dirty mistress who you keep sneaking around with. We both love Jeonghan, so why are we doing this to him?!" -His voice cracked. He made sharp eye contact, but Seungcheol could see tears threatening to fall from his eyes. 

He put his hands on Jisoo's shoulders, "Jisoo, slow down!" -he almost shouted- "You are NOT a dirty mistress, believe me! Jisoo..." -his voice softened into a whisper. Seungcheol grabbed his hand, holding it in both of his own, "I really, really like you, Jisoo; and I hope someday soon, I can love you the way I love Jeonghan," he explained, gripping tightly onto his hand. 

Jisoo gave him a weak smile, "I don't know why I'm crying," he chuckled, wiping a few stray tears off of his cheeks, "I'm happy that you like me, granted I kinda figured it out all ready, it's nice to hear you say it," he explained, leaning over and giving Seungcheol a peck on the cheek. 

He could feel his face heating up because of Jisoo's actions, "Jisoo, I have an idea," he began, abruptly changing the subject. 

"What is it?" Jisoo ran his fingers through his fluorescent coloured hair. 

Seungcheol took a deep breath, trying to find a way to phrase the question, "What if you, me, and Jeonghan tried to be...uh...what if we tried to be...a couple," he trailed off, eyes darting around the room. 

"What? The three of us? Really?" Jisoo asked, taken aback by the idea. He laughed awkwardly, shaking his head, "That-that's crazy."

"So?" Seungcheol argued, "You and I like each other, and we both like Jeonghan. We could totally try it; we'd just have to get Jeonghan on board."

"Do you think we could even get Jeonghan on board?" He asked, his face painted with concern. 

"I could try, but it'll be difficult," Seungcheol sighed, rubbing his forehead and taking a long pause, "Wait...we're really getting ahead of ourselves here."

Jisoo quirked an eyebrow at his sudden shift in tone, "yeah?"

The black-haired boy sat up straight, turning to face Jisoo, "When Jeonghan gets released from the hospital and we come home, he's gonna go to..that..place," he trailed off, staring at the bedspread. 

"You make it sound like he's going to prison," he chuckled, reaching for Seungcheol's hand again. 

Seungcheol pulled away this time, "He's going to rehab, Jisoo; for his mental health problems  and his drug overdose. I don't know how long he's gonna be there. We are not going to try and rope him into a three-way relationship until after he gets..well...rehabilitated!" he fervently explained.  

"Then why did you suggest it in the first place?! Why are you yelling at me like I'm the one who brought it up?!" He yelled in response. 

"That's a good point!" Seungcheol yelled, realizing that there was no reason for him to still be yelling, "Sorry. I'm just so stressed out and conflicted and the only way I feel like I can express my opinions is by yelling," he explained, his tone much more calm then before. 

Jisoo scooted even closer to him, wrapping his arm around him, Seungcheol rested his head on Jisoo's shoulder, "Cheolie, you can vent to me anytime," the younger comforted, rubbing his back sympathetically, "We can wait as long as you want when it comes to the whole three-way couple thing. As for Jeonghan's rehab, this is gonna be difficult, but we'll get through it together; I promise." 

He weakly wrapped his arms around Jisoo's waist for comfort, "Thank you for everything," he mumbled, sleepily closing his eyes and holding onto Jisoo even tighter. 

"Of course," -he replied, slowly running his fingers through Seungcheol's soft hair- "...I love you, Seungcheol," Jisoo whispered super quietly, probably not intending on Seungcheol  hearing it.

_'But I did hear it, and even thought I'm not at all ready to say it out loud, I think I love Jisoo, too.'_


	20. Desperate Measures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's an incident in a hotel lobby.   
> Waffles were involved.

Apparently Jisoo and Seungcheol fell asleep cuddling last night because they woke up entangled in each other's arms...in Jisoo's bed. 

"Well this looks pretty incriminating, all things considered," Jisoo chuckled as he got up from the Queen sized bed. 

Seungcheol checked his phone, "It's only 8:00am, the other guys are probably still asleep," He said, sitting up.   
Jisoo opened the window curtains, allowing sunlight to fill the room and fucking blind them. "Aah! Turn down the sun!" The leader whined, covering his eyes.  

Jisoo quickly closed the curtains, chuckling, "Sorry," -he walked back over and sat on the bed next to Seungcheol- "You want to go get food? They got continental breakfast in the lobby."

"Sure," he sighed, rubbing his eyes. 

"Are you gonna tell them today?" Jisoo asked out of the blue.   
He was staring intently at Seungcheol, who though for a moment before answering him, "I'll talk to Jeonghan about him going to rehab, but telling the other guys should probably be his decision," he explained, clearing his throat to get rid of his 'morning voice'. 

Jisoo nodded, running his fingers through his hair to fix it.

•••

Once the two reached the breakfast bar in the lobby, they were surprised to see that all the other guys were already down there. 

Soonyoung was the first to notice them, "Hyung check this out! They got waffles!" He shouted from across the room. 

"Stop yelling, you idiot!" Seungkwan yelled back. 

Soonyoung turned around to face him, "Hey, I'm your hyung, show some respect!" He scolded, shoving Seungkwan a little too hard, causing him to bump into Minghao, who got slammed into the wall. 

"Respect this!" The Mullet-clad boy shrieked suddenly, followed by a muffled *slap* noise. 

"Did you just throw a waffle at me?! Oh you're gonna get it, Xu!" Seungkwan screeched. 

Soonyoung followed suit, "You're the one that's gonna get it!" He growled, lunging at Seungkwan, putting him into a choke hold. 

"Get your filthy paws off my boyfriend!" Hansol jumped on Soonyoung's back, choking him from behind. 

Next thing Seungcheol knew, those fucktards are fighting in the middle of a hotel buffet. There's screeching, hair pulling, bitch slapping, He coulda sworn he heard Minghao say "hold my earrings."

Jisoo and Seungcheol ran over there, attempting to pry them apart from each other, "STOP IT, STOP IT, YOU IDIOTS!" The leader yelled, relentlessly trying to break up the fight. Jisoo tried to pull Hansol off of Soonyoung; Seungcheol tried to separate Seungkwan and Minghao. 

They soon gave up and stopped fighting, much to Seungcheol's exhausted relief. Each and every person in the room was giving them dirty looks.

_'I'd never been so embarrassed in my life.'_

He turned to face the boys once again, ignoring their disheveled appearance and apologetic faces.   
"Group meeting; all of you. Outside. NOW!" Seungcheol scolded them through gritted teeth, he could feel his face turning bright red. 

He and Jisoo mumbled apologies to all of the employees and other guests and they exited the lobby. 

•••

All twelve of them stood in the hotel parking lot. 

_'I stared daggers at them for several seconds, stirring in my thoughts. I was beyond angry with them. I was so angry that I didn't even know where to begin scolding them. I remained quiet for almost a full minute, pacing back and forth in front of them, leaving them in suspense. '_

He finally composed his thoughts well enough to yell at them, "What -and I cannot stress this enough- THE FUCK was that?! What...WHAT THE FUCK?!" He yelled, exasperated. He rubbed his forehead, pausing for dramatic effect. 

Seungkwan tried to speak up, "Well I guess we-" 

"No no no, I'm not looking for an answer yet, I'm not done yelling!" -he cut him off- "That-I..I..I don't even know what to say at this point because I know that you guys know better than to get into a BRAWL in the middle of a hotel lobby." -Seungcheol continued pacing back and forth as he ranted- "Y'know this is even worse now that we're famous, because do you guys know what's gonna be all over the news tomorrow? This. I just..I canNOT BELIEVE YOU IDIOTS GOT INTO A FUCKING FIST FIGHT!"   
He stopped, taking a deep breath and trying to not yell, "OK, I understand that it's a very stressful time right now, what with Jeonghan being in the hospital -He's normally the one that keeps you guys from getting into fights- but right now we really need to try our best to make the situation work, and that means being a little more patient with each other and shit like that," he explained, mostly through gritted teeth. 

"Well it's a good thing he gets released tomorrow," Mingyu mumbled. 

"About that.." Seungcheol replied, the look of confusion on their faces implied the need for him to elaborate, "Jeonghan won't actually be coming home right when he gets out of the hospital."

Jisoo put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, nodding at him to continue. 

"Jeonghan is going to go to rehab for a little bit. It's a place for people with problems like his and it'll help him get better," He explained, crossing his arms. 

"How long will he be there?" Mingyu asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"I...I'm not sure," Seungcheol stared at the pavement, avoiding eye contact with them, "But it might be a while...and we're gonna have to get by without him in that time."

They were all quiet for several seconds, "Ok..in hindsight, I probably should've waited to tell you that since I haven't actually talked to Jeonghan about it yet..." He trailed off, shuffling his feet on the floor. 

"Wait, he doesn't even know yet?!" Minghao whined, "So does that mean-"

"-Ah ah ah! I'm still mad at you, you don't get to talk yet. You, Soonyoung, Seungkwan, and Hansol are still on probation and you don't get to talk for another.." -Seungcheol checked his watch- "54 minutes."

"Cheolie, you can't be serious," Jisoo murmured from behind him, a look of uncertainty on his face. 

Seungcheol raised my eyebrows in response, "Oh, I'm very serious. In fact, y'know what? You four can just go to your hotel rooms for an hour and think about what you've done," He reprimanded, turning to face the perpetrators and crossing his arms sternly. 

Jisoo stepped toward him, putting a -less sympathetic- hand on his shoulder, "Seungcheol, they are adults, you cannot put them in time out," he whisper yelled. 

Hansol spoke up again, "Yeah, we're adults. You can't put us in-" 

"-SHUT UP, HANSOL!" Seungcheol sneered, instinctively pointing a finger at him. 

Hansol's eyes filled with shock as he stepped away from his hyung. 

_'Everyone else shared the same expression; they looked..scared of me. They'd never seen me raise my voice like that.'_

He took a deep breath, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean it that way," -Seungcheol said as calmly as he could- "Uhh, Jisoo and I need to discuss something really quick, you guys please just stay right here," he told them, quickly ushering Jisoo away from the group. They entered back into the hotel lobby, fielding dirty looks from other guests.   
The two beelined for the most isolated corner in the room, Seungcheol looked around to make sure no one was listening. 

"What do you want to talk about? Can it wait?" Jisoo asked impatiently, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

Seungcheol sighed, trying to keep his voice low, "Please, Jisoo, please don't undermine my authority right in front of them."

His eyes went wide, "Undermining your authority?" He repeated incredulously. 

"'They're adults, you can't put them in time out!'" -Seungcheol repeated Jisoo's own words back at him, making air quotes with his fingers- "THAT is undermining me. I'm trying to properly handle the situation and punish them and when you say that, it makes them think it's ok to go against me-"

"-Seungcheol," Jisoo cut him off, taking a step toward him and bracing him by the arms; his eyes bored into Seungcheol's, "You are not their father. They are not your children. You cannot send them to their rooms when they do something bad. I know how stressed you are and I said I would help you. This is me helping. Get a grip and handle this the way I know you can," He said. 

Seungcheol glanced at the floor for a moment, chewing on his lower lip as he thought about Jisoo's words, "You're right," he mumbled finally. 

Jisoo wrapped his arms around Seungcheol, "I knew you'd come around," he whispered, patting Seungcheol on the back before he let go.   
The two speed walked back out to the parking lot, rejoining the rest of the group. 

Everyone silently stared at Seungcheol, probably expecting him to start yelling again.   
He sighed, looking Hansol in the eyes; he seemed reluctant to look Seungcheol in the eyes, but did so nonetheless, "Hansol, I'm so sorry I snapped at you earlier. I'm sorry to all of you, for trying to punish you like a parent instead of trying to understand like a friend."

"It's ok. I'm really sorry for fighting," Hansol replied, sounding pretty genuine. 

"Me too, I'm sorry too," Minghao spoke up, brushing his long, black hair out of his face. 

Seungkwan cleared his throat, "Me too."

"I'm sorry too I guess," Soonyoung mumbled, still refusing to look at Seungcheol. 

'That little brat.'

"Ok, so please explain to me WHY this happened," -the leader poised the question as non-threateningly as possible- "Because it's been long time since you guys have done anything like this."

"I guess...I guess we just have so much pent up nervous energy and we're so stressed that we just started fighting over something stupid," Hansol explained sheepishly, anxiously tugging at his sweater sleeve.

Seungcheol cleared his throat, nodding slowly, "Do you guys agree?" He gestured to the rest of the group. 

Everyone else adamantly nodded. 

"Okay," -he sighed, pursing his lips- "Okay! That's..great that we worked this out. Now, let's go back to the hospital to see Jeonghan!" he suggested with a ton of faux-enthusiasm.

They simply groaned in response and began walking toward the van, leaving Jisoo and Seungcheol standing awkwardly in the middle of the parking lot. 

Jisoo grabbed his hand, lacing his fingers with his, "You handled that really well, I'm proud of you," he whispered into Seungcheol's ear, his lips brushing across the older's jawline as he pulled away and began walking toward the van. 

Seungcheol stood there for a moment, his heart suddenly beating faster than it should. He could feel his face getting hot, sweat threatening to form on his forehead. 

_'I know it's wrong, what I'm doing with Jisoo; but I just can't get enough of him. I love Jeonghan, and I love Jisoo, and I wish we could all just be together and live happily ever after.'_

"Hey Hyung, are you coming?" Mingyu called from the van, snapping Seungcheol out of his daze. 

"Y-yeah, I'm coming!" He yelled back, walking toward them. 

_'Everything may not be fine right now, but it will be eventually. Right now, we just need to make it through until things are back to normal...if we even have a 'normal' anymore.'_


	21. Behind Closed Doors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys visit Jeonghan in the hospital, Seungcheol and Jeonghan have a very important conversation

The familiar hospital atmosphere hit as soon as they walked through the automatic glass doors; it was such a dreary environment, Seungcheol couldn't imagine how Jeonghan felt, having to be stuck there for 3 days straight. 

He approached the front desk, "Hi, we're here to visit Yoon Jeonghan," Seungcheol told the receptionist, glancing anxiously around the waiting room. 

"Yeah, are you family?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he typed away at his computer. The receptionist was an intimidating man. Very large, with a bushy beard and neon pink acrylic nails. He spoke in a harsh, no-b.s. tone that send chills down Seungcheol's spine

Seungcheol cleared his throat, suddenly forgetting how to form a coherent sentence. He didn't quite know how to explain their situation since they all technically weren't his family, "W-well, umm-not-uh-technically b-but uh," he mumbled in really broken Japanese. 

"Spit it out, son. I don't have all day," He scoffed, crossing his arms, waiting impatiently for an answer. 

"Yes ok, I-I'm his boyfriend and..and..this is his son!" He blurted out, grabbing Chan by the arm and pulling him closer to him, nearly causing him to stumble over his crutches. 

Chan blanched, looking at Seungcheol with eyes the size of pancakes. 

Seungcheol shot him a 'just shut up and go with it' look, easing Chan's 

The scary receptionist raised his eyebrows, looking Chan up and down, "You look a little old to be Mr. Yoon's son," he said. 

Seungcheol was quick to debate his comment, "Oh, he's only 12! He's just very..very mature looking for his age hahaha.." 

The bearded man was quiet for a moment. It was doubtful that he believed Seungcheol's lie but he didn't care enough to say anything, "Mr. Yoon is in the third room on the left, right down that hallway," he turned his attention back to his computer. 

They followed his instructions and began walking down the hallway. 

"I'm his son?!" Chan whisper-yelled, struggling to keep up with Seungcheol's speed walking while on his crutches. 

"I panicked, ok!" The leader defended, "Besides, whatever it takes to see Jeonghan, right?"

Once they reached Jeonghan's hospital room door, Seungcheol hesitated before opening it, he turned to face the rest of the guys, grasping their attention, "Ok, now I haven't talked to Jeonghan about the whole rehab thing yet, so please please don't bring it up, got it?" 

"Got it," they all said, literally in unison. 

Seungcheol nodded, sighing. He turned back around and gently knocked on the large, wooden door. 

"Yeah," Jeonghan yelled in response, so Seungcheol swung the door open and they all piled inside. 

"Good Morning, my lovely!" Seungcheol greeted, rushing over to give Jeonghan a hug. Everyone else following suit. He could feel his heart jumping in his chest just from seeing his beautiful, perfect boyfriend again. 

"Aaa, I love you guys," Jeonghan mumbled as everyone got done suffocating him in hugs, "As much as I appreciate you visiting me, I'm sure there's some more interesting things you'd rather being doing since you've got an extra couple days in Tokyo," he explained, giving a weak smile.  

The bags under his eyes weren't as bad as they were yesterday, but they were definitely still there. The colour had begun to return to his lips and cheeks. He was starting to look, and sound, like himself again. 

"No no no, we want to see you, Jeonghan-Hyung!" Mingyu pleaded. 

Jeonghan simply chuckled in reaponse, nodding in acknowledgment. His silver hair fell around his face as he sat up in his hospital bed. His bright eyes still sparkled in the light; his face lit up when he smiled. 

_'He's still the Jeonghan I know and love, maybe not everything has changed.'_

•••

"Y'know our hotel has a whole breakfast buffet! With waffles!" Chan excitedly told Jeonghan. He rested his crutches against the wall, laying in the hospital bed next to his hyung. 

Jeonghan put his arm around the maknae, drawing him closer to him, "Hm, really, Channie?"

"We even got in a fight over it," Seungkwan chuckled, sounding way too confident considering the subject matter.

Seungcheol cringed, face palming at Seungkwan's comment, "He didn't need to know about that part."

"No no no, I wanna hear this," Jeonghan protested as he hugged onto Chan a little tighter. Chan rested his head on Jeonghan's shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist. 

"Well we...I don't know...we just kinda started arguing for no reason and the next thing I knew, we were at each other's throats," Hansol explained sheepishly, his pale cheeks turning pink. 

"It. Was. Humiliating," Seungcheol whined, burying his face in his hands, shaking his head, "You wouldn't BELIEVE the dirty looks we got as we walked out of the hotel lobby!" He ranted, looking around the room, meeting eyes with the four perpetrators who were involved. 

Jeonghan rolled his eyes over-dramatically, "You guys are on your own for less than a day and all hell breaks loose?"

"I'm sorry, Hyung. We promise it won't happen again," Seungkwan apologized, he appeared to be sincere. 

Jeonghan bit his cheek, "That's what you said after you put Mingyu into a choke hold at the movie theater that time," he pointed out, twirling a lock of his hair through his free hand. 

Seungkwan stamped his foot on the ground, "That was different, he was blocking my view," he whined. 

Everyone in the room chuckled at his childlike reasoning, but Seungcheol had to cut the laughter short, "Guys, can I talk to Jeonghan alone for a few minutes? We need to discuss something," 

They all nodded in understanding, filing out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Chan was the last to go, whining as he got out of Jeonghan's bed and got his crutches again. He slammed the door after hobbling out of the room. 

Jeonghan scooted over so Seungcheol could sit in the bed next to him. Seungcheo sighed, avoiding eye contact with his boyfriend.

He instantly picked up on Seungcheol's anxious demeanor, "Ok, what is it? What's wrong? Is it our company? Did we get fired for dating?!" He asked, only half joking. He brushed his messy hair out of his face as he laughed it off.

Seungheol smiled at the floor, shaking his head, "No, no. Umm, actually I wanted to talk to you about something," he corrected, his tone becoming more serious. 

"Ok, what?" Jeonghan asked, shifting in his seat. He began to scratch at his arm again, the way he was doing yesterday. 

Seungcheol chose to cut directly to the point, "When you get released from the hospital, maybe it would be a good idea if you...went to rehab," he suggested, grabbing  
his boyfriend's hand. 

Jeonghan's eyes widened, "You mean like some kind of crazy house?" He asked incredulously, "You want to ship me off to a padded room just because I made one mistake?!" 

Seungcheol was taken aback by the response, "I-um-well-uh-" he stuttered, panic filling him. He didn't anticipate this kind of reaction. 

"Cheolie, relax! I was kidding!" Jeonghan chuckled, rubbing his forehead, "Of course..I'm obviously not thrilled by the idea, but it's what needs to be done. I know I have a problem, and I want to get better," he explained, tilting his head to the side cutely. 

Seungcheol heaved a massive sigh of relief, "Don't scare me like that, Hannie!" He pretend-scolded, playfully punching him in the arm, "Y'know I hate the thought of you going away, but like you said, it's what needs to be done. I'm sure Pledis will let us postpone our comeback; and don't worry, I think the boys and I will be able to keep ourselves alive," he explained, putting his arm around his boyfriend. 

Jeonghan rested his head on Seungcheol's shoulder, "I'm gonna miss you so much, though," he sighed, laying back in the bed, shifting to get comfortable. 

"I'll miss you, too," he whispered back, laying down next to Jeonghan, cuddling up next to him. He could feel Jeonghan's body relax under his touch, "I love you so much, Hannie."

The two were quiet for a long time, simply enjoying each other's company. Seungcheol could hear his boyfriend's heartbeat; oddly, it comforted him kinda.  
The room was quiet, exept for the beeping of Jeonghan's heart monitor. Otherwise, it was like they were removed from the world. An alternate dimension with only the two of them. It was great. 

After several minutes of magical silence, Jeonghan said something that made Seungcheol have a literal aneurism. 

"I know you've been screwing Jisoo."

Seungcheol's heart dropped into his stomach, his whole body breaking out into a cold sweat as he processed Jeonghan's words.  
He quickly sat up, staring at his boyfriend in shock, "I-wait-um hold on-but but-what?!"

Jeonghan didn't look angry at all, he sighed, laying back in his bed, "Don't even try to lie, Seungcheol. I know you've been screwing Jisoo. It's obvious there's something going on between you two," he brushed his hair out of his face, the corner of his mouth tweaking into a minuscule smirk. 

Seungcheol was frozen on the spot, absolutely flabbergasted. He gulped, ready to launch into an apology, "Hannie, I am so, so sorr-"

"-don't say you're sorry, Cheolie," Jeonghan cut him off, cocking his head at an angle as he bulldozed his way through the difficult conversation, "I've known ever since the whole threesome joke thing happened last week where you guys almost kissed. You could cut the sexual tension in there with a knife.  
I know Jisoo's into you. I know you're into him. It's no big, really."

Seungcheol picked his jaw up from the floor and reattached it to the rest of his skull. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair, "But-but-but how are you not more angry about it?! Also, let me just clarify that we never had sex, ok; we kissed like 3 times but that was it, I promise."

"I think you've just answered your own question," He pointed out, shifting in his seat and leaning closer to Seungcheol- "Tell me, Cheol...do you love Jisoo? I mean, do you love him as much as you love me? The same way you love..me?"

Seungcheol took a deep breath, staring at the ground. He new the answer to that question, but he also knew that if he answered it, it would become real.  
The way he felt about Jisoo wouldn't just be an emotional splinter that was hidden in the deepest corner of his brain.  
His feelings would no longer be a skeleton that he could keep in his closet forever and pretend it never existed.  
If he said it out loud, it would be real.  
It would change everything. 

He moved his gaze back to Jeonghan, swallowing down the lump his throat. His eyes began to sting, his vision blurring. He grit his teeth, a shaky hand drawing up to his hair to brush it out of his face. 

 

"Yes, I do."

 

The lump in his throat sent his voice into a breathless rasp, "I love both of you so so much; more th-than anything in the world. I love you b-both more than I could ever even put into words," tears were now wildly dripping down his cheeks as he spoke nonsense, "I love you and I love Jisoo and in a perfect world, all three of us could live happily ever after but obviously that's not the case because I fucked up. I really fucked up. I broke your trust and I totally understand if you never forgive me. So if you're gonna break up with me, then just go ahead and do now-"

"-woah woah woah, slow down!" Jeonghan cut off his boyfriend's rambling, putting a gentle hand over Seungcheol's, his other hand on his boyfriend's shoulder, "Who said anything about breaking up with you?!"

"Well j-just assumed..." Seungcheol whimpered, wiping a few tears off of his face, "I broke your trust..I kissed our best friend.."

Jeonghan chuckled a little bit, "Cheolie, yes I am a little bit upset that you didn't tell me, but I'm not gonna dump you over it," he chuckled, his grip on Seungcheol's hand tightened, "I wish you'd told me that you felt this way about Jisoo."

Seungcheol's eyes widened, he numbly nodded, trying to process Jeonghan's words, "Why..why do you seem so OK with me being in love with him?" He wiped the last of his tears on his sleeve, sniffling. 

Jeonghan bit his lip, drawing himself closer to his boyfriend. His silky, silver hair fell around his face, his coffee-colored eyes shining under the fluorescent lights. He cleared his through, his voice no higher than a raspy whisper.  

 

"What if you're not the only one who has feelings for Jisoo?"


	22. Something Different

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jisoo, Jeonghan, and Seungcheol come to a decision now that all of the secrets are out in the open.

Seungcheol was frozen in his spot, he didn't dare move, for fear of this being a dream. He leaned in closer, gulping hard, "Jeonghan...do you.."

"What if I did?" He cut Seungcheol off, biting his tongue, "I'd be lying if I said I'd never thought about it.." he whispered, his lips curling into a cautious smile as he grabbed Seungcheol's hand, lacing their fingers together. 

Seungcheol nodded slowly, still not looking his boyfriend in the eyes, "So we both like Jisoo..and he likes both of us..." He deadpanned, a slight waver in his voice, "Are you sure I'm not dreaming? Cause this really feels like a dream."

Jeonghan let go of his hand and instead braced him by the shoulders. He leaned in close, closing the gap in between them. Their lips met for a long, gentle, blissful moment. Jeonghan's chest tightened, excitement coursing through him. 

He slowly pulled away from Seungcheol, "You're not dreaming, Cheolie," he said under his breath. 

Seungcheol cleared his throat, "If we're gonna talk about this, shouldn't Jisoo be here?" He asked, his hands fiddling with Jeonghan's pant leg of his hospital pajamas. 

Jeonghan sat back, crossing his arms, "You're right. Can you go get him and bring him in here so we can all discuss this?"

Seungcheol nodded, easing himself off the bed and leaving the room.   
He made his way down the long hallway and into the waiting room, "Jisoo," he said, approaching the purple-haired boy in question, "Jeonghan wants to talk to both of us about something. Trust me, you'll want to hear it."

"Uh-alright haha," Jisoo chuckled anxiously in response as he followed Seungcheol back to Jeonghan's room. 

 

The two boys sat down on either side of Jeonghan's hospital bed so they could all talk comfortably. 

"Ok..what's going on?" Jisoo asked, rubbing his hands together anxiously. He shifted in his seat, waiting patiently for an answer. 

Jeonghan clenched his jaw, sighing, "I'm not gonna beat around the bush here...I know about you and Seungcheol. I know that you like Seungcheol, and you like me." 

Jisoo blanched white, his eyes widening. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he gulped hard. He opened his mouth to squeak out a shameful apology, but was cut off. 

Jeonghan leaned closer to him, their knees touching as they sat in front of each other, "I also know that Seungcheol likes both of us.." He voice dropped an octave. He bit his lip, refusing to break eye contact with Jisoo. 

"I-uh.." Was the only thing Jisoo could bring himself to say. His cheeks burned red, his stomach was doing cartwheels. 

He leaned in even closer to Jisoo, they were sharing body heat. He could hear Jisoo's breathing and he could smell his floral cologne. Jeonghan's lips were only mere inches from his, "I know that I like my boyfriend very much...and I like you too," he breathed, his lips curling into a deviant smile. 

Jisoo's head was spinning. He thought he was hallucinating. Jeonghan had him wrapped around his finger, and Jisoo didn't mind it one bit. 

"And last of all," Jeonghan continued further, "I know that I really wanna kiss you right now."

Jisoo didn't wait for Jeonghan to kiss him first. He closed the gap between them, kissing him hard.   
He wrapped his hands around Jeonghan's tiny waist, pulling their bodies even closer. 

Seungcheol awkwardly watched all of this happen, still completely shell shocked by the whole situation. "Hot," he whispered to himself. 

Jisoo and Jeonghan pulled away from the passionate kiss, both breathing heavily. 

Jeonghan tucked a piece of hair behind his ear, "So what do you say, Jisoo? Do you want to be part of this?" He sighed, gesturing to himself and Seungcheol, "Do you want to be a couple with us? A-uh....a thruple?"

Jisoo was quiet for a while, regaining his composure and carefully contemplating the offer. It was exactly what Seungcheol had suggested, and he was indeed able to get Jeonghan on board.   
He looked back and forth between Seungcheol and Jeonghan for several moments before finally answering, "Let's do it."

Seungcheol grinned, reaching out and grabbing Jisoo's hand in his left, and Jeonghan's in his right, "Let's do it," he repeated. 

"So it's settled, the 95 line...we..are boyfriends!" He excitedly said, glancing back and forth between Jisoo and Seungcheol, "This...this is the start of something great."

•••

[1 day time skip]

"Ooh, Hannie's getting released from the hospital today!" Jisoo sang, dancing around the hotel room in his underwear, using a stick of deodorant as a microphone. 

_'This was the first thing I saw when I walked out of the bathroom. Dang, my new boyfriend is a weirdo. Ooh, I love calling him my boyfriend!'_

He picked up a tshirt from the floor and threw it at Jisoo, "Go ahead and get dressed, we have to be there at 10:30 to pick him up and go to the airport," he warned, stuffing his own items into his suitcase. 

The younger boy put on the tshirt and grabbed a pair of jeans from his bed, "I'm just so excited. We all get to be together again, even if it's only for two days..." He trailed off, pulling the jeans up his legs and buttoning them. 

"It's going to be even better when Jeonghan gets better and he comes home from rehab," Seungcheol explained, sitting on the edge of his bed, "I know it'll only be a few weeks probably, but it's gonna be so hard not seeing him everyday."

Jisoo sat down next to him, wrapping his arms around Seungcheol's waist, "You'll still have me," he whined, peppering little kisses on Seungcheol's neck and cheek. 

His actions made Seungcheol giggle like a schoolgirl. He turned around, grabbing Jisoo by the back of the neck and pressing his lips onto his; ending the chaste kiss after a couple glorious seconds, "You're right about that, Shua," he grinned. 

"Shua?" Jisoo repeated, sitting down next to his now-boyfriend. 

Seungcheol chuckled, "Well, we call Jeonghan 'Hannie' and we call me 'Cheolie' so what should we call you? Jisooie? Joshie? I figured Shua sounded the best out of the options." 

Jisoo nodded slowly, "Yeah, I guess Shua is fine.

Seungcheol stood up abruptly, "Ok," -he began, clapping his hands together- "You ready to go?" 

He nodded, and they both gathered their things and left their hotel room.   
Seungcheol texted the rest of the group to meet in the lobby. 

(The group chat)

_**PapaCoups: Guys, we gotta leave. Hurry up and get to the lobby.** _

_**LilJihoon: ugh but I just woke up!** _

_**KingOfChina: I still need to blow dry my hair** _

_**PuppyMingyu: I think I lost my wallet** _

_**Booyonce: I still need to eat breakfast** _

_**PapaCoups: be down here 5 minutes or we leave without you** _

"Are they on their way down?" Jisoo asked. 

Seungheol looked up from his phone, "Yeah, it's gonna be at least 20 minutes."

•••


	23. Hard Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guys return to Seoul, hoping to spend some quality time with Jeonghan before he goes to Rehab.

After picking up Jeonghan from the hospital, the boys headed to the airport. 

"I'm so excited to go back home!" Chan mumbled happily from the backseat. 

The rest of them grunted and hummed in agreement. 

Jeonghan, who was sitting shotgun, turned around to see the backseat, "I know we talked about this yesterday, but I just want to reiterate. If I'm gonna be gone for a few weeks, you guys are going to have to step it up around the house a little. Maybe you guys can take turns cooking breakfast or driving to work; also please don't give Seungcheol-hyung and Jisoo-hyung a hard time, and one more thing. Please please PLEASE no more fights. I do NOT want a repeat of yesterday," he warned, brushing his hair out of his face.

"No fighting, we promise," the boys repeated back to him. 

•••

"Sir, you're going to have to put your crutches in the over head compartment," a flight attendant asked as the boys boarded the plane back home. 

Chan only groaned in reply, "Jisoos Christ.."

"Chan, be polite," Jeonghan scolded, shooting him a warning look as he plopped into his seat. 

"Uh, Yes ma'am, thank you," the maknae said to the attendant, "Seungcheol-hyung, help me," he whined.

For everyone who wanted to know, putting a pair of crutches into an overhead compartment is much easier said than done, and putting a pair of crutches into an overhead compartment TWICE is not any easier. After a frustrating couple of minutes and a lot of dirty looks from other passengers, they got the crutches put away.

Seungcheol plopped down into his seat in between his two boyfriends, "Ok, so we're never performing at the MAMAs again," he groaned, rubbing his forehead. 

"Don't you think you're being overdramatic? It's not the MAMAs' fault that this happened," Jeonghan comforted him, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

"Yeah, and look on the bright side; if it weren't for the...incident, then we wouldn't have gotten together," Jisoo explained, giving an awkward smile as he put his arm around Seungcheol. 

"Exactly!" Jeonghan exclaimed in approval. 

The oldest boy sighed, leaning back in his seat, "I guess you guys are right. I'll talk to our managers about performing next year. Also...ooh I love you guys!" He squealed, reaching for Jisoo and Jeonghan's hands. The new-ness of the relationship hadn't worn off yet.

•••

Seungcheol practically kissed the floor when he stepped into the dorms, "Oh, home sweet home, I've missed you so much!"

"I think we all have," Wonwoo replied, throwing himself onto the couch exhaustedly. 

The boys dumped their bags on the floor, moaning and groaning as they sat down in the living room. 

Seungcheol checked his watch,"Okay, I was thinking..." He began, glancing to his side as Jisoo and Jeonghan sat on either side of him. 

"-You were thinking? Woah, he was thinking! That never happens!" Jihoon interrupted, cackling loudly at his own joke. 

Seungcheol rolled his eyes at the younger boy, teasingly slapping him on the shoulder, "Oh shut up, dude. Anyway, I was thinking that since Jeonghan is leaving tomorrow, we should really make the most of the rest of the day with him, y'know," he explained, biting his lip. 

"That's a good idea, hyung," Soonyoung said, propping his feet up on the coffee table as he sat in the chair opposite the couch. 

"So Hannie, what do you want to do?" Seungcheol continued, putting his arm around his boyfriend. 

He was quiet for several seconds, glancing around the room in thought, "Why don't we go to the gay bar down the street? Let's get TURNT!!" He yelled eagerly, pumping his fist into the air. 

"Well hold on," Jisoo spoke up suddenly, leaning forward in his seat. He scooted closer to Seungcheol, "Are you sure it's a good idea for him to be..drinking..alcohol?" He mumbled into Seungcheol's ear. 

Jeonghan's eyes went wide, "Y'know I can hear you!" -He cut in incredulously- "besides, I'm not going to rehab for drinking. It'll be fine," he continued, crossing his arms at his concerned boyfriend. 

Seungcheol hesitated before answering, "I know, but..Jeonghan," -he lowered his voice significantly at this point- "you still overdosed on heroin. You've been out of the hospital for 6 hours; I just don't think it's a good idea," he explained gently, putting a sympathetic hand on Jeonghan's thigh. 

Jisoo nodded, reaching around Seungcheol to put his hand on Jeonghan's shoulder, "What Cheolie said."

"Fine," Jeonghan sighed, rubbing his forehead, "Let's just...watch a movie," he mumbled, disappointed. 

"What do you want to watch, Jeonghan-hyung?" Wonwoo asked, adjusting his glasses. 

"My favourite of course," -he replied, smirking. His gloomy mood seemed to disappear quickly- "1988 satirical cult classic, Heathers."

"Okay...Ill go make some popcorn. Shua, would you get the movie set up?" Seungcheol asked, getting up from the couch. 

•••

12:27 am

Jeonghan laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. He obviously couldn't fall asleep, since all he could think about was how much he'll miss everyone while he's away. He pulled his blanket up to his chin, hoping to savor a little warmth out of the otherwise freezing room. 

"Fuck this," he whispered to himself as he rolled out of bed, opening the door and slinking out into the hallway.   
He found himself in front of Seungcheol's bedroom door.

His fingers hovered over the door knob in hesitation for a couple seconds. Though he finally grasped it, turning it slightly as he eased the door open as quietly as he could. He slinked inside, ever-so-carefully shutting the door behind him. 

Jeonghan tiptoed toward Seungcheol's bed, which obviously contained a sleeping Seungcheol. 

"He looks so cute when he's sleeping," Jeonghan whispered to himself, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile. He gently eased himself into the bed next to his sleeping boyfriend, pulling the covers over himself and wrapping his arm around Seungcheol's waist. 

The older stirred out of his slumber, he rolled over to face Jeonghan, "What are you doing?" He whispered groggily, his eyebrows furrowed and only one eye open. 

Jeonghan scooted closer to him, giving him a brief kiss before replying, "I couldn't sleep," he whispered back cutely. He wrapped his legs around Seungcheol's, clinging to him like a koala. 

The close proximity and body heat made both of them feel all warm and fuzzy. 

Seungcheol smirked, brushing Jeonghan's hair out of his face, stroking his cheek. The younger let out a sigh, relaxing into the touch.   
The two boys quickly drifted off to sleep, wrapped in each other's arms.


	24. Where To Look-Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeonghan goes off to rehab, leaving the other guys to fend for themselves

The next morning was filled with tearful goodbyes as the gang dropped Jeonghan off at the rehab facility. 

"I promise we're gonna visit every Saturday while you're there," Junhui repeated as he wrapped his arms tightly around Jeonghan, "Hyung, we're gonna miss you so much," he whined, wiping a tear off of his cheek. 

"Oh, I'm gonna miss you too, Junnie" Jeonghan let go of Junhui and continued down the line, hugging everybody one more time, "oh, and I'm gonna miss you, Jihoonie; and you, Gyu-gyu, and Hao, and Hansolie, and Kwannie, and Minnie, and Wonu, and Soonyoung; oh and my baby, Channie!" He cooed, sniffling as he finished by hugging the maknae, "Oh and Cheolie and Shua!" Jeonghan rushed over to his two boyfriends, giving them each a short-but-meaningful kiss before pulling them both in for a tight hug, "I love you guys so much."

"We love you too, Hannie," Seungcheol and Jisoo replied in unison, each gripping onto Jeonghan as tight as they could, hoping they'd never have to let go. 

Before they knew it, Jeonghan was walking through the automatic double doors of the rehab center, suitcase in hand; and the rest of the boys were in the van, pulling out of the parking lot. A solemn silence filled the van for several minutes before Seungcheol finally said something. 

"Ok, now that Jeonghan-hyung is gone, let's go get ice cream!" He announced, hoping to lighten the mood. 

The mood was not lightened.  

Everyone remained quiet, rolling their eyes and groaning at their hyung. 

"Ok..no ice cream. Do you guys want to go see a movie? We've got the rest of the day off." Jisoo suggested, turning around so he could face the back seat. 

Once again, nothing. 

"Ok fine, we'll just go home," Seungcheol mumbled, shooting Jisoo a concerned look before quickly putting his eyes back on the road. 

•••

The next morning was...less than pleasurable, to say the least. 

Jisoo decided to sleep in Seungcheol's bed that previous night, they cuddled until they fell asleep, it was cute, blah blah blah. 

Fast foward to 6:30am in the morning when the two boyfriends were rudely awoken by the incessant ringing of the smoke alarm...followed by a lot of screaming. 

Seungcheol's eyes shot open upon hearing the noise, he untangled himself from Jisoo and bolted out of his room. He jumped down the entire flight of stairs; rushing into the kitchen, "Fire! Fire?! Wait-what's going on?!" He asked frantically, taking in the sight in front of him. 

Thick, grey smoke filled the room, clouding the vision of anybody who entered; the smoke instantly invaded Seungcheol's lungs, he struggled to hold back his coughs. 

Seungkwan stood in the middle of the kitchen, fire extinguisher in his hands, and an apologetic look on his face. 

Mingyu stood by the stove, he was covered in fire extinguisher foam. He crossed his arms angrily, "I'm gonna kill you, Boo," he growled through gritted teeth. 

Junhui was standing on a chair, poking at the smoke alarm with a broomstick. The chair looked like it could break at any moment. Wonwoo was sitting on the floor, trying to cut fruit with a pair of scissors. 

The rest of the boys were loudly arguing about this or that.   
Seungcheol thought he was going to have a heart attack from shock, "EVERYONE SHUT UP, JUST SHUT UP!" He boomed, getting the attention of his dongsaengs, "Seungkwan, drop the fire extinguisher! Junhui, get off of that chair,right now! Wonu, put the scissors down!"  
He rubbed his forehead, sighing, "Please enlighten me, what the hell happened?" His voice went up in pitch, indicating his annoyance. At this point, Jisoo had also reached the kitchen; he put a sympathetic hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. 

"We were trying to make breakfast, like how Jeonghan-hyung makes for us," Minghao replied sheepishly, glancing at the floor in embarrassment. 

Mingyu wiped some white foam off of his face, "That's when we remembered that we don't know how to cook...and some of us don't know how to put out fires, SEUNGKWAN!" He raised his voice, shaking a fist at the boy next to him. 

"Ok, ok!" Seungcheol interjected, putting his hands up defensively, "Let's just...clean this up. I appreciate the sentiment; but next time, ask us for help so you don't burn down the kitchen."

Junhui groaned, climbing down from the chair, "Maybe we should just stop at McDonald's for breakfast on the way to work," he mumbled, rubbing his forehead.

"That sounds great," Jisoo gave a forced smile as he approached Mingyu, a roll of paper towels in hand, though he stopped short, setting the paper towels on the counter, "Y'know what, gyu? Why don't you just shower before we leave?"

Mingyu nodded, shooting Seungkwan another dirty look before walking away towards the bathroom. 

Seungcheol hoped that this incident wasn't an indicator of how the next few weeks would go.

•••  
Once they guys arrived at work, their managers called them in for a meeting; striking fear in Seungcheol's heart. 

' _I'm sure he's not gonna, like, fire us or anything'_ He thought. 

They sat expectantly in the meeting room, their manager at the head of the table, "This may not come as a shock, but we are going to delay your next comeback until Jeonghan is in the right condition to perform. Whether that's a month, or 6 months; Its not worth it to rush the album release. Until then, please try and continue with your work; producing, writing, choreographing, etc," the manager explained, sighing. 

Seungcheol was beyond relieved to hear the good news, obviously; as were the rest of the guys. 

•••

The next week went by without a hitch. Jisoo taught Seungkwan and Minghao how to make breakfast without burning the house down, though they still ended up having fast food for breakfast most days. Nobody has gotten into a fight or gone to the hospital (except Chan, who can finally walk without crutches), and things have been overall pretty chill. 

By Friday afternoon, the Seventeen dorm was filled with jovial laughter and general craziness, in a good way. 

Seungcheol and Jisoo stood at the landing of the stairs, watching as the rest of the boys were playing an intense game of freeze tag in the living room. 

Jisoo grabbed for Seungcheol's hand, holding it tightly in his, "This is gonna be ok, yah?"

Seungcheol locked eyes with him, a smile growing on his face, "Yeah, I think so," he whispered, giving Jisoo a peck on the cheek before they both walked down the stairs to put a stop to their game before they broke something.


	25. Intimacy And Its Definition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the kids all go to see a movie, Seungcheol and Jisoo have some fun of their own 😏

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I'm so sorry for not uploading for forever. I've got like 6 different fics I'm working on at the moment so this one kinda got pushed to the back burner. Anyways enjoy!

"Jisoo-hyung, can we go see a movie?!" Seokmin hollered from the living room. 

Jisoo, who was laying in Seungcheol's bed, _attempting_ to relax, was reasonably annoyed. He got up and walked out of his boyfriend's bedroom, leaning over the balcony of the upstairs, "You have a phone, Minnie! You don't need to yell. Yeah sure you guys can go to a movie," -he paused, an idea popping into his head- "I-I think Seungcheol-hyung and I are just gonna stay here and chill, ok?" 

"Aright, see you in a few hours, hyung," the younger said off as he walked out of the living room. 

The purple-haired male excitedly flounced back into the bedroom, "Cheolie," he grinned, approaching his boyfriend, who'd just exited the bathroom, "We've got the dorm to ourselves for a little while," he hoped the older would pick up on his flirtatiousness. 

Seungcheol's hands snaked around the younger's waist. His lips curled into a smirk as he pulled himself closer to him, "Really? Is that right? Maybe we should...make good use of that time?" 

Jisoo smiled, his fingers dragging down Seungcheol's chest, "Would it be...wrong..for us to *ahem* have a good time while Jeonghan is gone?" He locked eyes with the black haired male in front of him, leaning in and giving him a chaste kiss, lighting an electrifying spark between their connected lips. 

Seungcheol's cheeks grew rosy as he thought for a moment, "I suppose it couldn't hurt..." he whispered, returning another sensual kiss to his boyfriend's addicting lips. His grip on Jisoo's waist tightened slightly as he pulled their bodies even closer together.  

Jisoo leaned in closer to him, wrapping his arm behind Seungcheol's neck, and closing the gap between them once again. 

The kiss was so much more needy this time. Their lips moving together in a sloppy rhythm; Jisoo's tongue found its way into Seungcheol's mouth, licking up and down his top and bottom teeth. 

Seungcheol let out a restrained groan, his hands roaming all over his lover's body; his fingers dancing across Jisoo's thighs, hips, neck, hair, and everything in between.

Jisoo tugged at the hem of Seungcheol's shirt, prompting him to pull it off. He complied, taking it off at once and tossing it into the nearby hamper.   
Jisoo did the same, throwing his sweater onto the floor carelessly.   
His hands roamed all over Seungcheol's bare chest, his eyes widening as he took in Seungcheol's incredible body. Their lips met once again, sloppily, and hungrily. 

They backed up until Seungcheol's legs hit the foot of the bed; Jisoo gestured for him to sit down, immediately straddling him once he did. 

Jisoo eagerly tasted Seungcheol's tongue, their lips moving rhythmically together. Jisoo ground his hips onto his boyfriend's, their respective hard ons rubbing together through their jeans. 

The younger broke the kiss to fiddle with Seungcheol's belt buckle, hastily unbuttoning his jeans.   
He leaned back, eyes wide at Jisoo's actions, "Wow you certainly don't waste any time!"

"What can I say? I'm a man on a mission," he mumbled, sliding his boyfriend's jeans off and tossing them onto the floor. He momentarily stood up so he could do the same to himself, throwing his own pants on top of Seungcheol's. 

Seungcheol's boxers were decorated with an ever-present tent of fabric that told Jisoo exactly what was going on. He eyed Seungcheol's crotch for several seconds, before he looked sharply back into his eyes.   
Seungcheol laid down on the bed, allowing Jisoo to climb on top of him, his knees on either side of the older's hips. 

He lowered himself closer to Seungcheol, one hand on his shoulder. He used his other hand to support himself on the bed.   
His hand drug down Seungcheol's torso smoothly until it reached the waistband of his boxers, "Mind if I..." He asked, pulling away from the kiss. 

"Please, go ahead," He replied breathlessly. 

Jisoo stuck his fingers under Seungcheol's waist band, Seungcheol tensed up due to Jisoo's frigid hands grazing the sensitive skin right below his stomach. 

He pulled Seungcheol's boxers down in a singular, swift motion. Seungcheol immediately kicking them off, his erection landing flesh up against his stomach, dripping with precum.   
Jisoo took in the beautiful sight of the naked man underneath him, his eyes darkening with lust as he leaned in to kiss Seungcheol once again. His free hand blindly trailed down the older's body until the pads of his fingers grazed the tip of Seungcheol's dick. 

Seungcheol's breath hitched, his body tensing under Jisoo's touch. 

Jisoo drew his index finger all the way up the underside, Seungcheol shivering beneath him. Without breaking the kiss, he grasped Seungcheol's whole cock in his hand, starting to pump slowly. 

He let out a low groan, his grip on Jisoo's waist tightening. Beads of sweat threatened to fall from his forehead.

Jisoo gradually sped up his movements,  running his thumb over the tip of Seungcheol's cock; breaking the kiss only to move his mouth in the direction of his boyfriend's neck. He sucked gently right under Seungcheol's jaw, earning a symphony on moans on his behalf.   
Seungcheol was coming undone under his his touch, and he was loving it.

Jisoo skimmed his teeth just under Seungcheol's ear, "Jisoo...Oh my god.." He whispered, dropping his head back onto the mattress to allow for more access. 

Jisoo licked a stripe all the way up Seungcheol's neck, gently blowing on it; all while maintaining his viscously slow strokes on his dick. 

Seungcheol's fingers tangled into the Jisoo's hair for some purchase as he bit back a moan. 

He sped up the strokes, flicking his wrist on every other one; he peppered sloppy kisses down Seungcheol's neck, biting the skin occasionally. Just when he thought Seungcheol was about to nut, he slowed down his strokes, soon stopping completely. 

Seungcheol looked at him incredulously, he opened his mouth to speak, but Jisoo cut him off. 

"Oh, you're gonna be glad I stopped, Cheolie," he mumbled, getting up off the bed and walking to the bedside table, rifling around in the drawer for a while before finding what he was looking for.   
He returned to his boyfriend with a bottle of lube in his hand, as well as big smile on his face. 

Seungcheol sat up quickly, "Oh! Yeah..ok.." He eyed the bottle of lube anxiously, scratching the back of his head. 

Jisoo had already begun taking off his boxers but stopped when he saw Seungcheol's face, "Wait a minute, you ARE a bottom, right?" He raised an eyebrow. 

"Y-yes! I am, it's just,, Jeonghan and I never,,went this far. I've never...yeah," he stuttered, smiling awkwardly at his boyfriend. 

Jisoo sighed in relief, "Oh, ok, yeah that's fine, we can *ahem* just do a little prepping, yah?" 

"Yeah," Seungcheol glanced at the ground, biting his lip.

The purple-haired male popped the lid off of the lube container, squeezing some of its contents onto his fingers and replacing the lid. 

Seungcheol laid back, spreading his legs to give Jisoo full access. 

Jisoo leaned over him, holding himself up with his left arm. His pointer finger traced around Seungcheol's asshole, slowly sinking into it. 

Seungcheol let out a restrained groan, tilting his head back as the pleasure coursed through him. 

Jisoo started out pumping slowly, but he eventually sped up his motions, his eyes studying Seungcheol's gorgeous body, "You're so hot."

"I k-know," he confidently replied, gripping onto Jisoo's hip again, "Now hurry up and a-add a second finger!"

Jisoo complied, shrugging, "Someone's an eager beaver."

"Ooh yeah, a g-guy could get used to this," Seungcheol smiled at his boyfriend, his hand roaming up toward Jisoo's neck, his other hand gripping the duvet.

After Jisoo deemed Seungcheol sufficiently stretched out, he removed his fingers, wiping his hand on the duvet. He slid his boxers off and tossed them onto the floor, his dick hitting his stomach at once. 

He squeezed some more lube into his palm, slowly stroking himself. He wanted to put on somewhat of a show for Seungcheol. With his head tilted back, lips parted, he let out a symphony of quiet moans. 

Seungcheol had never seen anything more beautiful, more angelic, more breathtaking.

Jisoo leaned over his boyfriend, gently kissing him. He laid a firm hand on Seungcheol's knee, spreading his legs open further. He lined himself up and thrusted into him. 

"Oh wow! Oh yeah, that's,,wow!" Seungcheol squirmed with pleasure. 

"I know right!" Jisoo groaned, speeding up his thrusts. He stroked Seungcheol's dick while fucking him, his pumps and thrusts falling into a rhythm. 

This all went on for some time, a couple of minutes.   
The temperature of the room seemed to rise.   
Both boys bit back their moans, despite being in a empty house lol. 

Eventually, Seungcheol could feel his high approaching, his eyes squeezing shut; a warm sensation spread through his stomach. Before he knew it, Jisoo's hand was painted white. He opened his eyes, looking back up at Jisoo, a smile growing on his face. 

Jisoo finished soon after, pulling out of Seungcheol and plopping down on the bed next to him, "That was fantastic!" He breathed, leaning over and gently kissing Seungcheol.   
After a few moments, he got up, jogging to the bathroom to get a washcloth to clean up Seungcheol and himself. He returned, briefly wiping his boyfriend down, then himself. He tossed the washcloth into the hamper and jumped back into the bed, wrapping his arms around Seungcheol's torso. They scurried to get under the covers, pulling the duvet up to their chins.

"Jisoo, that was the best sex I've had in like years," Seungcheol said, burying his head into Jisoo's chest. The closeness and shared body heat under the covers was so..intimate. More intimate than the sex. Seungcheol absolutely adored it. He could hear his boyfriend's heart beat, feel his soft skin, he'd never felt closer to Jisoo. 

He hummed in reply, hugging Seungcheol tighter in his arms, "Same aha," he gently pressed his lips onto Seungcheol's forehead, "Seungcheol...I love you," he whispered. 

"I know," Seungcheol slurred, sleep threatening to overtake him at any moment, "I heard you say it while we were in Tokyo."

Those words didn't phase Jisoo. He was too happy-and tired-to care. He just smiled and held Seungcheol a little closer. 

Seungcheol continued, "I love you too, Shua. I really love you, so much. I love..you..." He hardly got the words out before falling fast asleep on Jisoo's chest. 

Jisoo chuckled to himself at his boyfriend's cuteness. It wasn't long before sleep overtook him aswell, and both Seungcheol and Jisoo slept peacefully for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I'm being completely honest, I'm thinking of just letting this story die already. I've already written 31 chapters for it and tbh the story has strayed so far from the original plot that it's kinda gotten lost. Idk...I'm either gonna finish the story and let it die like I'd originally planned (at about 40 chapters) or maybe I'll let it just continue on indefinitely and keep coming up with now plotlines for it. I guess we'll see idk.


	26. How Much Longer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guys all visit Jeonghan in rehab.

The next morning, the happy couple were abruptly awoken by a knock at Seungcheol's bedroom door, "Seungcheol hyung, are you awake yet? We're supposed to go visit Jeonghan hyung this morning, yah!" Seungkwan hollered from the other side of the door, taking absolutely no consideration to the possibility that anyone was still sleeping. 

Seungcheol and Jisoo's eyes shot open almost simultaneously. They looked at each other, then at the door, then back at each other. They both swore under their breath, piecing together the situation quite fast. 

"Seungcheol hyung?" Seungkwan repeated, his tone softening as he knocked again, "Hyung, if you don't answer I might have to come in there and wake you up myself-"

"No No No!" Seungcheol shouted, leaping out of bed. Instantly realizing he was still naked, he moved to cover himself with the duvet, earning a hushed laugh from Jisoo, "Don't come it! I'm awake. Just give me a minute!"

After hearing Seungkwan walk away, he let out a sigh, dropping the duvet and making his way over to the pile of clothes on the floor. He glanced at his clock, eyes going wide, "Fuck! Oh my god, Jisoo we've got to go in like five minutes!"

Jisoo, who had been lazily lounging in the bed, jumped up to get dressed too, running to throw on the first pair of underwear, jeans, and tshirt he could pick up, "Shit, 8:55, we were supposed to be out the door at 9:00," he mumbled, pulling a shirt over his head. 

The two boyfriends burst out of the bedroom door and fled down the stairs. All of the other boys were sitting in the living room, watching cartoons. 

"Alright..yes, we are..ready to go visit Jeonghan." Seungcheol sighed, attempting to act casual despite his previous state of panic. 

"Haha hey, have you guys switched clothes since yesterday?" Chan asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Jisoo blanched, "Uh.."

Chan's expression quickly changed from curiosity to disappointment, "Oh..forget I asked."

•••

The group arrived at the rehab center at 9:45, piling into the building, anxiously awaiting their opportunity to see Jeonghan. 

"Come with me, please," the receptionist at the front desk said, leading them to a small room at the end of a long hallway. 

The room was dimly lit by a couple of floor lamps, though the large window on the opposite wall was letting in a sufficient amount of light. Couches lined each of the walls, surrounding a small coffee table in the middle of the room. 

"Mr. Yoon will be with you shortly," the receptionist told them, shutting the door behind her. 

Indeed, the door reopened only a minute later and Jeonghan walked in, "Hey guys!" He said. 

Everyone jumped up, running over to tackle him with hugs. 

"Woah woah woah! Careful, don't crush him!" Seungcheol warned, holding back his own excitement.

After the younger boys were done hugging Jeonghan, Seugcheol and Jisoo approached him, each giving him a short, but chaste kiss, followed by all three of them group hugging, "Ugh, we've missed you so much, Hannie," Jisoo said.

"I've missed you guys, too," Jeonghan cooed, tightening his grip on his boyfriends, "Cheolie, and Shua! Aw and Junnie, Wonu, Hansolie, and-"

"Ok, we don't need the whole fanchant, hyung," Jihoon interrupted, prying Joshua off of Jeonghan so he could give him another hug, 

-

After all of the 'omg we missed you' hoopla died down, Jeonghan sat down on the couch in between his two boyfriends, each putting an arm around him. 

"So what's it like here? Is it like prison?" Chan asked, eagerly leaning foward in his seat. 

Jeonghan simply laughed, "No no, not at all. The staff are actually really nice here. The beds are comfortable, and they let us watch tv. I just wish they'd let us use our phones..Anyway, I've been going to therapy for my drug problem; the withdrawal symptoms from the heroin are starting to get a lot better, but the doctor told me that the symptoms will stick around for another few weeks. I still have these crazy scratches all over my arms," he explained, showing his bandaged forearm to the guys. 

"What's the therapy like?" Jisoo asked, lovingly rubbing Jeonghan's shoulder.

"It's..it's good. I was worried it would be like crazy and like scary or something, but it really isn't," Jeonghan ran his fingers through his hair, smiling at his boyfriend. 

Something Jeonghan said didn't sit well with Seungcheol, but he couldn't quite place what it was..

"Oh guess what! Pledis said we can wait as long as we need to have our comeback, so that's good!" Seungkwan said, changing the subject dramatically. 

"Well that's fantastic! I mean, it's not like I thought they'd fire us or anything," Jeonghan chuckled, leaning onto Jisoo's shoulder cutely. 

The boys spent the remainder of their time together telling Jeonghan about their week...in great detail. Before they knew it, it was 11:15, and time for them to leave. 

"So how much longer to you think you'll be staying here?" Jihoon asked, standing up from the couch. 

Jeonghan sighed, crossing his arms, "Right now it looks like it'll be a few more weeks."

All of the boys groaned in disappointment at the news. 

"Oh don't be like that! I'm sure the two weeks will just fly by!" Jeonghan said, attempting to get them to buck up, though it fell on deaf ears. 

The boys eventually said their goodbyes and left the rehab center, by then it was almost noon. 

"Alright, I've got an idea," Seungcheol announced to the everyone in the van, looking into his rearview mirror to see the kids in the backseat, "What if we all spend the rest of the afternoon at the mall? We could shop, and have lunch, and walk around a bit."

Jisoo cleared his throat, putting his phone down, "That sounds like a wonderful idea, Cheolie," he gave Seungcheol's thigh a reassuring squeeze, "What do you guys think? Does the mall sound good?" 

They all seemed to be chill with the idea. 

"Escalators will be so much easier now that I don't have my crutches!" Chan said, beaming with excitement. 

"This is good timing, I need to buy some stuff anyway," Wonwoo didn't bother looking up from his phone. 

Seungcheol sighed, "So it's settled..mall."


	27. Mingyu Is A Literal Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guys take a trip to the mall,, and of course, something is bound to go wrong.

Once the 12 boys entered the mall, they were met with hoards of loud people, lots of stores, and lots of sale adverisements. They hadn't been able to go to this mall since in opened the previous summer, but were excited to check it out

"Ooh! They've got a Cinnabon here!" Junhui said, pointing at the nearby restaurant. 

Jihoon's eyes lit up, "And a guitar store!"

"Haha, don't even think about it. Remember what happened last time you got your hands on a guitar?" Jisoo asked, crossing his arms at the pink haired boy next to him. 

Mingyu groaned, "I sure remember.." He said under his breath.

"Ooh! A Spencer's! Let's go in there, it looks cool!" Wonwoo excitedly jumped up and down like a 5-year-old on Christmas morning, running into the store; the others followed him inside. 

"This store is...interesting," Jisoo remarked, almost yelling over the loud music that was playing. 

The walls of the store were lined with profane tshirts, weed-themed coffee mugs, and...satanism books? 

"My Christian ass just wasn't ready for this.." He remarked to Seungheol, uncomfortably fiddling with his cross necklace, "Yknow what, I'll meet you guys outside."

Wonwoo looked like a kid in a candy store. He ran around, picking up strange pieces of jewelry and miscellaneous LGBT Pride-themed items, apparently he planned to buy a lot of it. 

Seungcheol wandered to the back of the Spencer's, eyeing up the unique cat posters that they sold. He stopped cold in his tracks when he saw the back wall, "A wall full of sex toys?!" He whispered to himself, his eyes as wide as saucers as he gazed over the seemingly endless shelves of vibrators, butt plugs, riding crops, cockrings, and god knows what else. 

"Wow! That's the second most dildos I've ever seen in one room!" Hansol laughed, turning to look at Seungkwan, "The first was your mom's bedroom."

Seungkwan simply rolled his eyes, slinging his arm around his boyfriend, pecking him on the cheek, "Ugh, Solie.. One more joke like that and I won't buy you that lingerie set you wanted so bad..and I wanted to see you wearing it tonight."

Seungcheol wished he hadn't heard that, he turned and quickly walked away from the couple, suppressing his gags.

He hurriedly walked out of the store, waiting with Jisoo, Chan, and Junhui next to the escalators, "Ok so I'm never going back in there ," he mumbled. 

"Me neither, I'm too innocent for half of what they sell there," Chan said, crossing his arms. 

Soon enough, the rest of the guys came back out of the Spencer's, now they just had to wait for Wonwoo.   
When Wonwoo came out, he was carrying two large bags with him and he was grinning from ear to ear. 

"You didn't buy anything from the back wall, did you?" Jisoo asked tentatively as they all began to walk around the mall some more. 

"No no, but I did get this tshirt that has a Pansexual pride flag on it! And a hat that says "fuck off". Also they had a bag of edible gummy dicks, so I bought those," he rambled, stifling a giggle. 

Seungcheol ruffled Wonwoo's hair, "Haha, well I'm glad you found some good stuff. Now, who wants to get lunch in the food court?"

Everyone murmured in agreement, heading towards the west wing of the mall.   
They were surrounded by a bunch of fast food restaurants. Everything from McDonald's to Panda Express.   
The boys marveled at the wonderful selection. 

"I wanna go to the philly cheese steak place!" Chan said, pointing to the opposite side of the food court. 

"I want pizza" jihoon motioned towards the nearest restaurant. 

Seungcheol nodded, scanning the room, "That's all well and good. Mingyu, what do you have want?" He asked, turning around to face the group.   
He quickly realized that there were only 10 people standing there when there should've been 11. 

"Where's Mingyu?" Jisoo asked, folding his arms, "God sakes, did he wander off again?"

"I'm calling him," Wonwoo said, pulling out his phone. He patiently waited for Mingyu to answer his phone, which he didn't, "His phone must've died."

"Ok well I guess we've got to go look for him.." Junhui turned around on his heel, marching towards the other side of the mall, motioning for the rest of the guys to follow him.

They walked all over the mall, looking into each store, and they couldn't find him. They only had one wing of the mall left to look through. 

"What's a..lost parent station?" Chan suddenly asked, reading the sign above a nearby storefront. 

Jisoo turned and looked at him, "It's where lost kids are supposed to go when they get separated from their parents..." He trailed off, having a realization, "I swear to god, if Mingyu is in there.." He groaned, storming into the lost parent station, Seungcheol following closely behind. 

Jisoo approached the front desk, "Hi," he began, putting on a polite smile, "God, this is gonna sound weird but..did a 22-year-old, 6'2, child happen to come in here, saying that he'd 'lost his hyungies'?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

The woman behind the counter gave a polite smile, "Um..yes actually! He's in the back room, come with me."

She led Jisoo and Seungcheol down a hallway and into what looked like a kindergarten classroom.   
The room was filled with toys and coloring books; there were about 7 kids in there, all under the age of 10...and then Mingyu was sitting on the floor playing wth them. He was stacking blocks with one of the children. 

"Mingyu, your..hyungies..are here for you," the lady said, walking away back to the front desk. 

Mingyu looked over and his eyes lit up, "Jisoo-hyung! Seungcheol-hyung! Hey!" He ran over, giving them a big hug,"Thanks for finding me! My phone died and I couldn't find you or anything. I didn't know where else to go, so I came here. It's nice here, they gave me a juice box and a cookie!"

Seungcheol was gonna make a joke about Mingyu's perceived immaturity, but figured it wasn't the right time, "Yeah..I'm glad we found you."

The three of them exited the storefront, joining the rest of the guys. 

"Is there a pet store here? I think we need to buy you a leash," Soonyoung joked, ruffling Mingyu's hair. 

They began walking back toward the food court again, "You gotta stop wandering off, Gyuie," Junhui cooed, smiling at the boy in question.

"I know.." Mingyu chuckled, running a hand through his hair. 

Seungcheol cleared his thought, "Ok..now, who wants food?!"


	28. Domestic Disagreements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The members struggle to decide where to eat for dinner.

The guys got on ok over the course of that next week.   
Jeonghan was able to call them every other day, which definitely made life without him much easier to the guys. 

"Bye Hannie! Goodnight, I love you, too!" Seungcheol cooed, hanging up with Jeonghan as they got home from work on Friday night.

"Alright, who wants Mexican for dinner?" Jisoo asked while everyone was still in the living room. 

"I don't like Mexican food," Seokmin whined, sitting on the couch, propping his feet up lazily. 

"How about Chili's?" Jisoo asked meekly. 

Seungkwan sat next to him, "I'm on a diet, I can't," he said, furrowing his eyebrows. 

"Me too," Mingyu chimed in, walking towards the bathroom. 

"Me three!" Chan, too. 

"Maybe Olive Garden?" Seungcheol suggested. 

Jihoon walked by them, "More like Food Poisoning Garden.." He scoffed. 

"Ok fine, how about Panda Express?!" He asked, plastering on a fake smile. 

"I'm boycotting that place, their CEO supports homophobic charities," Minghao walked in from the kitchen, a can of diet coke in his hands. 

"Their food always makes me sick anyway.." Wonwoo complained, sitting down on the couch next to Seungkwan. 

"What food DOESN'T make you sick, Wonwoo?" Jisoo asked with an obvious tinge of sarcasm, putting his hands on his hips.   
He thought for a moment, "How about Chik-fil-A?"

"Homophobic!" Minghao yelled from the other side of the dorm. 

"Maybe some sushi?"

"No!" Wonwoo, Junhui, and Seungkwan and shouted in unison, vehemently opposed to it. 

"Ok ok, y'know what, fine. Get your own damn dinner! Clearly, nobody wants to eat the same thing and we are NOT ordering pizza for the 10th time this week. Goodnight!" Seungcheol barked, lumbering upstairs to his bedroom in frustration, slamming the door shut behind him. 

Everyone downstairs watched in silence, their mouths agape at their leader's behavior. 

Hansol walked into the living room from his bedroom, looking up from his phone with a confused expression, "So..was that a **definite** 'no' on the Panda Express?"

•••

Seungcheol laid in his bed, numbly staring at the ceiling for what was probably 5 minutes. Eventually, he heard a soft knock at the door, followed by the unmistakably angelic voice of his boyfriend, "Cheolie? Can I come in?"

"Sure."

The door creaked open, Jisoo stepped inside, shutting it behind him, "Hey.."

Seungcheol sat up, hugging a throw pillow to his chest, "Hey," he moaned groggily. 

Jisoo sat on the bed next to him, "Ok, what was that all about?"

"Those ungrateful brats can't agree on anything," he grumbled, rubbing his forehead. 

"Seungcheol.." Jisoo was clearly surprised by his boyfriend's harsh words, "Cut them some slack, will you?"

He sighed, laying back down in bed, "You're right. I love all of them, and would die for them, you know they just..sometimes they really are too much, yknow?"

Jisoo laid down next to him, grabbing his hand, "I know..Tensions are high, we're all stressed, it's all very understandable. Now that you've taken some time to think things over, let's go downstairs and have a civil discussion about dinner, ok?" 

Seungcheol turned to face Jisoo, planting a soft kiss on his cheek before sitting up, "Ok."

•••

The living room was still filled with uncomfortable silence when Jisoo and Seungcheol returned. They walked to the front of the room together, grasping everyone's attention with some overdramatic throat-clearing. 

"*ahem* *ahem* Ok so..Seungcheol-hyung has something he wants to say," Jisoo began, scratching his head.

10 anticipating gazes turned toward Seungcheol, "Yes, well, uh..I'm sorry for snapping earlier. If it's not too late, do you think we can all agree on one place to have dinner?" He anxiously twiddled his thumbs, watching their faces carefully. 

"Yeah, it's all good, hyung," Mingyu said, giving the leader a reassuring grin. 

They all nodded and murmured   
in agreement, much to Seungcheol's relief. 

"Now I'm just spitballing here, but how about Chick-fil-a? Minghao, I know you're not too keen on going there, but can you make an exception just this once?" Jisoo asked, raising his eyebrows as his gaze shifted to the skinny, mullet-clad boy sitting on the couch in front of him, "Seungkwan, Mingyu, and Chan, they've got plenty of heathy options. Jihoon, rest assured, you will never get food poisoning from there."

Minghao sighed, sipping his Diet Coke, "Chik fil a is fine.." He said, blinking slowly. 

Seungcheol cleared is throat, "Great! I'm fucking hungry!" He cheered, walking to the front door, putting on his shoes and putting on his coat. He patiently waited for the other guys to do the same. 

Jisoo led the way as the 12 of them filed out of their dorm and into the hall, "Cmon guys, let's go support homophobia!" He sarcastically cheered, putting his fist up in the air. 

"Not funny, hyung," Minghao nagged, rolling his eyes.


	29. The G.O.A.T

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seungcheol receives some wonderful news, prompting everyone to do some cleaning around the dorms.

2 weeks had gone by since the guys visited Jeonghan in rehab.  

The guys felt like they were just stumbling through each day that he was gone.   
Sure, they sort of figured out how to cook breakfast.   
And they hadn't gotten into any fights. 

That's all well and good.   
They were surviving, yes, but they weren't thriving. 

4 light bulbs got burnt out in the dorm, and they didn't care enough to change it. 

Half the group got food poisoning for a day because Seungkwan tried to make chicken salad. 

They almost got into a car crash 3 times because Jeonghan's the only decent driver in the group.

They were getting by, but they surely weren't enjoying it. 

•••

It was Thursday night, the guys had just finished up having their dinner (takeaway again). Seungcheol sat down on the couch with his laptop in front of him. He was hoping to get a bit of work done that night, since he needed to have a set of lyrics done by the next Monday.

He opened up a document that he'd previously saved, absentmindedly picking at the dry skin on his lower lip as he gazed at the blank screen for god knows how long. 

***ring ring ring***

He snapped out of his gaze, picking up his phone and answering the call without looking at the caller ID, "Hello?" He rasped, clearing his throat. 

"Mr. Choi?"

"Y-yeah, who is this?" He asked. 

"Hi, we're calling to inform you that Yoon Jeonghan has finished his rehabilitation requirements and is going to be released tomorrow. We want to confirm that he has someone to pick him up from the facility."

Seungcheol's heart felt like it skipped a beat. He slammed his laptop shut, setting it on the coffee table and jumping up from the couch, "Uh-um-yeah. One moment please," he stuttered into the phone before lowering it from his cheek and covering the speaker with his hand.  
"EVERYBODY, GET IN HERE! FAMILY MEETING!" He yelled as loud as he physically could before clearing his throat again and talking into the phone again, "Ahem, uh, yes. I'll come pick him up. What time?"

"Is 9:30 ok?"

"Absolutely. Ok, have a great night. Thanks for calling, bye!" Seungcheol hastily ended the call, shoving his phone into his pocket. 

By then, the other 11 guys had entered the living room, curious about what Seungcheol wanted. 

"Oh oh, everyone sit down, sit down hurry! I have news!" He explained, trying to explain his excitement.   
He has so much energy, he was literally bouncing up and down as he stood. 

"Woah, Cheolie, did you have a 5-hour-energy again?" Jisoo asked, laying a hand on his shoulder, signaling him to stop bouncing. Once he did, Jisoo gave him a peck on the cheek, "What's the news, babe?"

Seungcheol took a deep breath, "Ok...Jeonghan is coming home tomorrow."

The room erupted into a symphony of cheers at once, everyone hooped and hollered.   
Hansol might've even hit the woah.

"Yes yes, I know it's exciting. Now, Jisoo and I are going to pick him up from the place tomorrow morning," he paused, looking at Jisoo to ensure that the plan was good with him too, "So I'd like you guys to tidy up the dorm while we're gone. Obviously, Jisoo and I are going to do our part as well. If all of us pitch in, the dorm can be spotless when Hannie comes home, ok?"

Most of the guys slumped down in their seat at the prospect of cleaning, mumbling a whiny "Fiine.." To Seungcheol. 

Seungcheol leaned back in his seat, "Our baby is coming home," he whispered to himself, biting back a smile. 

•••

Seungcheol's alarm went off at 5:30 am on Friday morning. He slammed the off button, rolling over in bed and shaking Jisoo awake, "Baby wake up, we gotta clean this pigsty up," he chuckled groggily, giving his boyfriend a sleepy kiss before getting out of bed. 

Jisoo did the same, instinctively shivering as his naked torso came into contact with the cold air outside of his duvet, "I wish they would've given us more notice before releasing Jeonghan, we could've had more time to clean," he said as he dug through Seungcheol's closet to find a shirt.

"No sense complaining," Seungcheol groaned, putting on a tshirt and a pair of jeans, "I'm going to go wake up the kids," he continued, leaving the bedroom. 

•••

***beep***

***crash***

***crack***

***slam***

"FUCK!"

The cacophony of concerning sounds were followed by a meek whine, "Seungcheol-hyung..." 

The leader in question scurried into the kitchen, stopping on his heels once he entered, "Oh Wonu.." He groaned, eyeing up the scene in front of him. He'd previously send Wonwoo to go clean up the kitchen, which the kid had been doing for the last hour or so. 

Wonwoo was sitting on the floor, surrounded by spatulas, broken pans, and a million shards of broken plastic and glass. It was a huge mess, and the poor boy looked like he was about to cry. His cheeks were bright red, his lip quivering. 

Seungcheol looked up to see that the Microwave door had been completely ripped off its hinges; that explained the shards of plastic. 

Wonwoo sniffled, his eyes welling up with tears, "I-I'm sorry hyung. I-I-I was putting away some pots a-a-and I don't know-and-and I don't know what happened. I slipped and grabbed onto the microwave handle so I wouldn't fall but then I-I-But then I fell anyway and I'm really sorry and-"

"-It's ok Wonu, it's alright, just take a deep breath," Seungcheol carefully tiptoed around the broken glass, sitting down on the floor to help him. He wrapped his arm around Wonwoo to comfort him, rubbing his back sympathetically, "It's ok, baby, it's ok. We can clean this up," he wiped a tear off of the boy's cheek, "Wonu?" He tapped Wonwoo's chin, prompting him to look at him, "Look, this is all fixable. We can buy a new microwave-"

"B-but that'll be expensive.." The boy whimpered, looking at the floor in embarrassment, "I'm sorry."

Seungcheol pulled him into a hug, "Wonu, it's ok. Don't worry about the money, please. The important thing is that you didn't get hurt," he explained, letting go of him and looking him in the eyes, "We can work together to clean this up, ok?"

Wonwoo bit his lip, sniffling and adjusting his glasses, nodding at his hyung, "Ok," he whimpered, slowly standing up with Seungcheol, carefully avoiding the broken glass. He quickly wiped off the rest of his tears, pulling himself together so that they could clean. 

Over the next ten minutes or so, the two were able to get almost everything cleaned up. Seungcheol, despite his best efforts, couldn't stop Wonwoo from apologizing every two seconds.   
After tossing the last of the debris, Seungcheol approached him, giving him a sincere smile, "Hey bud, why don't you take a little break from the cleaning for now. Rest for a bit, yah?"

He hesitated for a moment, biting his lip, "Ok..thank you, hyung," he said finally, leaving the kitchen and heading upstairs to his and Seungkwan's room.

•••

At 9:00, Jisoo and Seungcheol left to go pick up Jeonghan. The car ride began relatively silent, though after a few minutes, Seungcheol attempted to force a conversation. 

"So we're apparently going to need a new microwave now," he began, clearing his throat as he grimaced at a bad driver on the road. 

Jisoo raised his eyebrows, glancing over at his boyfriend from the passenger seat, "What?! Why?!"

"The door sort of got ripped off.."

"How does that even happen?!" He followed up, his eyes widening. 

Seungcheol glanced over at him, "Wonwoo...had an incident. It's ok, everything is fine, just a little mishap is all. We can buy a new one on Amazon later."

Jisoo hummed in agreement, waiting several moments before he spoke again; a sufficient amount of time for him to change the subject of the conversation, "So do you think things will be different once Jeonghan's back?" He asked quietly, looking out the window. 

"Well yeah, of course. I don't know HOW it'll be different, but it'll be different. Whatever it is, it's our new normal," he said, placing a loving hand on Jisoo's knee while the other remained on the steering wheel. 

Jisoo sighed, putting his hand over Seungcheol's, rubbing the back of his hand with his thumb, "That's fine. We haven't had 'normal' in a long time anyway."


	30. Where To Look- Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeonghan is finally released from rehab.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh it's been a minute, honey! Seriously, I'm sorry for not updating in so long, I've been working on some other stories 👀 That might be uploaded soon ;) so yeah haha

Seungcheol and Jisoo pulled into the Rehab center parking lot at 9:28am, with anxious grins on both of their faces.   
They entered the lobby, approaching the front desk, "Hi, we're here to pick up Yoon Jeonghan. He's being discharged today," Seungcheol told the receptionist. 

"Alright, he'll be right out, just wait right over there," she said, pointing to the chairs in the waiting area. 

They walked over, sitting down and locating the door that they thought their boyfriend would be coming out of. They watched it like a hawk for another five minutes. Every time it would open, they'd get excited, only for them to slump in disappointment when Jeonghan didn't come out of it. 

Finally. 

Finally

The door opened, and a familiar frame came walking towards them. 

"Hannie!" Seungcheol yelled, running towards his boyfriend, Jisoo not far behind.   
The two pulled him into the worlds tightest hug, pulling away only when Jeonghan said that he couldn't breathe. 

Jeonghan gave each of his boyfriends a chaste kiss, followed by another hug. It was after all of that when Jisoo and Seungcheol noticed something strikingly different about him. 

"Oh my god, your hair!" Jisoo gasped, putting a hand over his mouth. 

Jeonghan's long, silky, silvery-blond hair was no longer existent. It was now pitch black, and cut off just below his ears. On anyone else, the style would look ridiculous, but of course it suited him super well. 

Jeonghan chuckled, glancing at the ground as his cheeks turned pink, "New me. What do you think?" He asked shyly, touching his hair. 

"You've never looked better, Hannie," Seungcheol smiled, pulling Jeonghan in for another quick kiss, "In fact, it looks pretty hot."

Jisoo cleared his throat, "True dat," he sighed, giving Jeonghan a kiss too, "I kinda wanna rip your clothes off right here-"

"-Well that's certainly not going to happen right now!" Jeonghan hastily cut him off, picking up his suitcase and leaded the way out of the rehab lobby and out into the parking  lot, "Maybe when we get home though.." He mumbled after a long pause.

They got into the car and pulled out of the parking lot. 

"So, fill me in on everything that happened," Jeonghan said eagerly, sitting criss-cross-applesauce in the passenger seat. He tugged at the sleeves of his fluffy sweater, making sweater paws. 

"We need a new microwave," Jisoo began, his gaze moving between Seungcheol and Jeonghan, "and we almost died a couple of times. Apparently you and Seungcheol are the only decent drivers. We've basically been living off of fast food for the last month. By the way, NEVER let Seungkwan make chicken salad again-"

"Okay! Yes! That is..what happened haha.." Seungcheol cut him off, trying to bring the conversation to a more uplifting topic, "So what do you wanna do when we get home?"

"I'm dying to sleep in my-err-your bed. The beds at rehab are fine, but there's nothing like a familiar mattress," he chucked, leaning back in his seat. 

•••

"Jisoo hyung texted! They've just pulled it!"

"Oh fuck oh fuck, ok, we got everything done, no one panic!"

"Oh my god, I'm so excited!"

"Me too!"

"Everyone shut up! They're coming!"

 

Seungcheol opened the door to their dorm, stepping inside with Jisoo and Jeonghan. They were met with a completely dark and quiet living room. 

Jeonghan cleared his throat, "What the fu-"

"WELCOME HOME!" Everyone shouted as soon as Seungcheol turned the lights on. They put up a big banner that looked like it had been finger painted to say 'Welcome Home Hyung'

Jeonghan stumbled back slightly, his eyes going wide, "Aw, guys.." He bit back a smile, his nose scrunching cutely, "I-uh-aww you guys," He repeated, his eyes filling with tears almost instantly. He was overcome with happiness and couldn't even find the words to express it.   
He approached all of his dongsaengs, "I love you guys.." He whined, letting all of the boys attack him with hugs.   
Seungcheol and Jisoo obviously had to get in on the action, they ran over and joined the massive group hug with no hesitation. 

•••

At 10:00pm, Jeonghan went into Seungcheol's bedroom, where Jisoo was sitting and watching YouTube on Seungcheol's bed. 

Jeonghan jumped into bed next to him, stuffing his face into a pillow. He could hear the shower going, making the connection that Seungcheol must be in there washing up.   
He rolled over, grabbing Jisoo's arm, "Jisooooo," he whined, "Guess what.."

Jisoo paused his video, turning his attention to his clingy boyfriend, "Whaat?"

"I love you," he said, smiling like a little kid. 

Jisoo giggled, leaning down and giving his boyfriend a quick peck on the cheek, "Love you too," he cooed before turning his attention back onto his laptop screen, unpausing the video. 

The bathroom door creaked open, drawing the attention of the two.   
Seungcheol walked into the bedroom, wearing only a towel around his small waist. His wet, black hair was slicked back out of his face. To put it bluntly, he looked really fucking hot. 

Jeonghan's eyes widened, he sat up immediately, "My my my, Mr. Choi, it's been awhile.." He growled, biting his lip. His eyes ran up and down his boyfriend's muscular frame. 

Seungcheol snickered, approaching the bed, "Indeed it has.." He said, smirking at Jeonghan. 

He ran a hand down Seungcheol's toned torso, his cheeks blushing pink, "Maybe we should have some fun tonight..y'know, to celebrate me being released from rehab.." He murmured, his eyes meeting Seungcheol's as his fingers toyed with the edge of the towel. 

He leaned in a little closer to Jeonghan, biting his lip, "Hmm...not tonight," he said bluntly, standing back up straight and heading over to the dresser, "Tomorrow though..Shua!" 

Jisoo looked up from his laptop, "Yeah?"

"Threesome!" Jeonghan shouted, almost completely unprovoked. A giddy smile grew onto his face, "Yess! Finally!"

Jisoo chuckled a bit, nodding, "Wonderful. This time tomorrow. It's a plan."


	31. Eomma Said Knock You Out, I’m Gonna Knock You Out!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the cliffhanger finale to this story, The 95 line have a very special night, and Minghao and Chan get into a fight.

The three woke up the next morning in Seungcheol's bed, moaning and groaning about the way they'd slept. 

"How the hell did that happen? We were all just cuddling when we went to sleep," Jeonghan whined, rubbing his forehead.  
When he woke up, his top half was hanging completely off the bed, his forehead resting on the floor. 

Jisoo was awoken to find Seungcheol's feet in his face and a pillow stuffed halfway up his shirt, "Yeah.."

Seungcheol somehow managed to get his bedsheets wrapped around him like a straight jacket, "M-maybe a full size bed just isn't meant for 3.." He groaned, struggling to break free of the linens. 

"It's barely meant for two," Jisoo said, pushing his boyfriend's feet off of him, "Have you considered investing in a king size?"

"I will now.." Seungcheol chuckled, getting up and walking to the bathroom. 

Jeonghan got up aswell, "I'm gonna get myself some caffeine. Come with, Baby?"

Jisoo nodded, "You had me at caffeine," he said as they both exited the bedroom. 

-

Throughout the rest of the morning, and a good bit of the afternoon, Jeonghan sat on the couch, cocooned in blankets.  
He had his nose buried in his laptop, going seemingly hours at a time without returning to the real life world. 

"Is he gonna do that all day?" Soonyoung asked Jisoo as they did the dishes after lunch, watching Jeonghan through the kitchen doorway, "He hasn't moved in an hour, and that was just to go to the bathroom."

"He's catching up on all of the things he missed. Apparently, they don't really allow social media in rehab," Jisoo explained, smirking at the thought of his boyfriend reacting to the Super Junior comeback that happened 3 weeks ago. 

-

By 11:00pm, Seungcheol, Jisoo, and Jeonghan laid in Seungcheol's bed; all of them were totally fucked out and nearing sleep. The bedroom was still laced with the essence of their steamy escapades, each of the men still thinly veiled in sweat.

"I love you guys," Jeonghan groaned, his gaze wavering between both of his boyfriends on either side of him. He turned toward Jisoo, tracing his fingers around the dark purple marks that littered his neck, "I guess you're going to be wearing a turtleneck to dance practice tomorrow," he whispered, grinning at himself, as he knew that most of the marks came from him. 

Jisoo laughed, pulling the covers up to his chin, "At least I'll be able to walk tomorrow. Seungcheol, are you doing alright?" He asked his other boyfriend, who was laying motionless on the opposite side of the bed. 

No response. 

The two giggled at the fact that he was already fast asleep. They took it as a sign that they should go to sleep too. 

Wrapping his arms around Jeonghan's thin waist, Jisoo curled up next to him and closed his eyes, "G'night, Hannie.."

"G'night, Shua," he whispered, giving his boyfriend a kiss on the forehead before his eyes fluttered shut and sleep overcame him. 

-

 

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAAAKE UP WAKE UP!" Seungkwan scream-sang as he banged on the bedroom door, "Cmon hyung, we've got to go in twenty minutes! Do I need to come in there and drag you out of bed-"

Seungcheol sat bolt upright, the colour draining from his cheeks, "SEUNGKWAN, YOU DON'T NEED TO DO THIS-every morning," he yelled back, taking an inopportune breath in the middle of the sentence, "I have an alarm clock, you know!"

"Ok..well anyway, I made breakfast..." The boy trailed off, walking away from the door. 

Seungcheol sighed, flopping back down onto the bed. At that point, his two boyfriends were also awake, sitting up in bed too.  
Seungcheol and Jisoo immediately jumped out of bed and began searching for some clothes to put on, while Jeonghan remained in bed a little more hesitantly. 

It didn't take them long to notice, "Hannie, we need to go soon. You can borrow some of my clothes," Seungcheol mumbled, tossing a pair of underwear at his general direction. 

Jeonghan sheepishly slid out of the bed and quickly walked over to pick up said underwear. 

Seungcheol glanced at him for a moment, distantly registering in the back of his mind that Jeonghan was looking kinda frail and sick again. By the time he looked at Jeonghan again, the latter was already mostly dressed.  
Seungcheol shook the thought away, _'but he went to rehab. He's in recovery. He's fine, I'm just paranoid.'_

The boyfriends eventually went downstairs, all entering the kitchen, where most of the other guys were.  
Seungcheol poured a mug of coffee for himself, then one for Jeonghan, then for Jisoo.

Wonwoo walked in shortly after, jumping slightly when he saw Jeonghan, "Oh! Hyung, i  
I'm still not used to your new haircut," he chuckled, sitting down at the kitchen table.

Jeonghan sipped his coffee, "Thanks..I think. Man, I'm so fucking glad to be back. I missed this kitchen, this coffee, this coffee mug, those windows, these countertops-"

"Hyung, we get it. You missed everything," Jihoon interrupted him, sipping his own coffee as he left the kitchen. 

"FOR GOD SAKES WOULD YOU LET ME BE SENTIMENTAL FOR ONCE?!" Jeonghan scolded him, his face turning red as he pointed an angry finger at Jihoon. 

"Hyungs, why are you all wearing each other's clothes?" Chan asked innocently, walking into the kitchen. The contented look on his face fell grim after a couple seconds of awkward silence, "OH COME ON!" He huffed, storming out of the room, "You could at least TRY not to be obvious!"

Minghao, who sat on the couch in the living room, glanced up from his phone to see Chan stomping to his room, "Little baby-waby Chan is too innocent-winnocent to think about things like that.." He taunted, snickering evilly. 

Chan snorted, turning to him, "You got a problem?" His cheeks turned bright red, and his fists were clenched. 

"I said what I said, bitch," Minghao sighed, returning his gaze to his phone screen. 

The only response Chan could come up with at the moment was to throw something at his hyung, so he grabbed the nearest object and fucking chucked it in Minghao's general direction. 

The problem? That particular object just so happened to be a table lamp. 

The large lamp hit Minghao dead on. The base hitting his leg and shattering, the lampshade hitting him in the face.  
It was like it all happened in slow motion, and everyone watched it, but didn't have time to intervene. 

There was a heart-wrenching *crash*, and next thing everyone new, Minghao was on the floor, in pain, surrounded by broken lamp pieces, "OOOWWW, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!!" He screamed in pain and rage. 

Chan stood, frozen, the entire time. His eyes were wider than saucers. He drew a shaky hand up to his mouth, taking a couple steps back, "Oh my god..hyung I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!"

Soonyoung and Jisoo ran to Minghao's aid, making sure he wasn't like stabbed or something, "Hao, do you need ice?" Jisoo asked in an attempt to be helpful. 

"YES I FUCKING NEED ICE, THAT FUCKWAFFLE HIT ME IN THE SHIN WITH A FUCKING LAMP!" He shouted, clutching his leg. 

Seungcheol approached the maknae, grabbing him by the shoulder, "Chan I think it's best that you remove yourself from the situation.." He mumbled into his ear, escorting him out of the living room and down the hall, to the bedroom that he shared with Seokmin and Wonwoo.  
Seungcheol shut the door, and motioned for Chan to sit down on a bed, "Ok...WHAT THE FUCK, CHAN?"

He looked like he was holding back tears. He was still shaking, and his cheeks were tinted pink, "I-I don't know..It was an accident-"

Seungcheol sighed deeply, sitting down on the bed next to him, "It..it was an accident. So you accidentally picked up a 12lb table lamp and threw it at Minghao?!" He asked, trying to keep his voice calm. 

"I mean...not that kind of accident. I acted without thinking. He was making me so mad..he was humiliating me! I-I was gonna throw something at him, and that was what I grabbed," he explained, rubbing his eyes and swallowing thickly. He bounced his leg up and down anxiously, holding his head in his hands. 

_'Why couldn't you have just thrown a pillow-gah!’_

Seungcheol could tell that Chan was really sorry. He bit his lip, thinking for a couple of moments, "Ok..just..once everything calms down a bit, we can go back in there and you can apologize to him."

"Ok. I really hope he isn't hurt too badly. I know how it feels getting hit with glass, it's not fun," Chan murmured, staring at the floor. 

Seungcheol chuckled slightly, "Well Minghao can be a little bit of a drama queen sometimes. He's probably fine, maybe just a bit bruised."

Chan sighed, looking relieved, "Oh, ok good..

Seungcheol scooted closer to him, his expression still serious, "Channie, is there anything you want to talk to me about...emotionally and stuff? Like, maybe there's a deeper reason behind your outburst?"

He remained quiet for a while, avoiding eye contact like it was the plague, his cheeks burned red, "Um...no. No no, not like that. I think-Uh-I think I just lost control a little bit."

"That happens sometimes. The important thing is that you learn from your mistakes, so this won't happen again," Seungcheol explained, giving him a kind pat on the shoulder before standing up. He cracked the door open, peeking out into the living room, which appeared to have calmed down significantly, "Chan, I think it's safe to come out now."

The two approached the living room, sheepishly shuffling in once they knew it was ok. 

Minghao was sitting in an armchair as if it was his thrown, his injured leg propped up on the coffee table with a bag of ice on it.  
He sipped leisurely on a Diet Coke as he scrolled on his phone. 

Everyone else was either back in the kitchen, or in their rooms getting ready.  
Chan hesitantly approached, "Hyung.."

Minghao looked up at him, raising an eyebrow, "Are you here to take out my other leg?"

"No!" Chan protested, his eyes widening, "I'm here to apologize, Hyung. I'm really sorry for throwing a lamp at you and it was really bad and I hope it didn't hurt you too much," he blurted out all in one run on sentence, bowing deeply at the Chinese boy, "Please forgive me, hyung."

Minghao just chuckled, "Yeah yeah, I’m over it," he said passive-aggressively, reaching over and ruffling the maknae's hair, "I just have a killer bruise now."

"And we'll need a new lamp, I guess," Seungcheol mumbled to himself numbly, picking up a shard of glass that was lying on the floor.

He was starting to have a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. A feeling that told him even though Jeonghan’s back, Seventeen’s problems weren’t even close to over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve decided to end the story here since the next 9~ chapters have kinda taken a drastic turn as far as the plot is concerned.  
> This storyline will be continued in the SEQUEL, Behind Closed Doors, which is out now so check it out if you want


End file.
